Primitive Impulse
by CircadianLily
Summary: A girl survives the crash amidst several boys, slowly swindling away their civilized selves to satiate their more innate cravings. Soon the struggle for survival threatens the existence of their innocence. Ralph/OC/Jack. Everyone's a few years older.
1. Salty Tears

**Primitive Impulse**

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_Disclaimer_: The Lord of the Flies belongs to William Golding, but of course, I'm sure you all knew that. (:

**Chapter 1- Salty Tears **

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I felt a sudden sting quickly travel up the length of my pale arm, now marred with angry scratches, crusty with day-old scabs. It was met with a peculiar wetness that didn't belong within my dream. This quiet darkness was hardly worthy to be called a dream… more like an unadorned state of unconsciousness. The tranquility was _watchful, _almostwaiting for the chance to claim its cold eternity over my feeble frame. The iron-clad determination that I shared with my father rose up to confront this foreign proposal, snubbing the defeat of rest. It bellowed in my chest and rose to the small opening of my unmoving lips. It came out as a pathetic moan, but it was enough to be followed by the flutter of my eyes. Everything was blurry, but the colors were instantly recognizable as the sky.

_The sky?_

My mind raced at the mismatched information that collided within my head. My last memory was of the stuffy plane, of my uncomfortably scratchy wool dress, of my father's close colleague murmuring words of security to me as I rung my hands, and of the tumultuous horror that had ensued. I felt the same salty wetness from before now trail into my slightly open mouth. My enflamed arm was now engulfed with the assaulting sting as the wetness reached my side.

I felt all of my energy burn my body into instant action. The amount of energy that I had tried to muster up that would have normally been enough to spring my upper half upright, only allowed me to turn sideways, away from the torturously briny water. I felt my right side being pinned under my body and it sunk into wet sand. In a way, the coolness was nice, yet the graininess was unpleasant against my overly-sensitive wounds, causing some of the scabs to crack under the pressure.

The outlines of the world began to focus. I could now see trees. Though they were certainly nothing like the trees in England. They were strange in the way they twisted in growth. And their colors were more vibrant, wilder somehow. I felt a small bit of revulsion in the pit of my stomach. It was savage… untouched by the care of humanity. The sight caused me to raise myself up in alarm. I was quite weak despite the effort; I noted when my arms began to shake.

_What is this place? _

For a stimulating moment, I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. And yet, this place seemed far from what heaven would be like. I was also feeling pain up both my arms and a growing, throbbing pressure within my head. I knew that there was no pain in heaven. My silent elation at still being alive came to a stop when I reconsidered whether I _really_ wanted to be alive in a place such as this. My lips quivered, as did the rest of my body.

I looked down at my trembling arms. They were tainted with multiple grazes and dark bruises. A couple of the deep ones were bleeding, though it seemed to be coming from the freshly fractured scabs from before.

_Perhaps I have been laying here for awhile…_ The thought discomforted me greatly. My injuries were instantly forgotten as I thought of the others on the plane. Those boys in uniforms. And the grownups.

The idea sent volts of energy throughout the rest of my body. _Surely I must not be the only survivor._ I told this to myself mentally in order to keep my sanity. I knew that it was one of man's best assets; it was tied with logic and strategy. At the moment, however, I didn't feel particularly logical. I wildly clung to the prospect that I was not alone, despite that nothing else seemed to move around me. If I truly were alone, then perhaps my journey to heaven would come quicker than expected.

The blood rushed to my head a bit too quickly as I finally stood up. My surroundings seemed to sway dangerously as I attempted to focus on a particularly ugly tree in order to keep from mentally falling away.

My hand came up to gingerly inspect my forehead. I flinched slightly when my fingers probed a large swell just over my left eyebrow.

"Oh, just bloody great." I scowled. My father would have been ashamed by such language, but my duties to being a respectably young woman like my mother were definitely one of the farthest of my concerns at the moment.

I looked down at my soiled, torn dress. My sleeves received the most damage. They were practically torn to ribbons, which would explain the condition of my arms. A new wash of misery came over me when I realized at the beads of sweat mingled with grime crawling down my body. The air in this place was as thick as steam. It was a fact that I detested with a ferocity that I rarely publicized.

I vehemently pulled the thick dress over my head, leaving me in my significantly lighter under dress. The coolness was instant and wafted through the thin fabric, which also cooled my sour mood for the time being.

The torturous dress was tossed aside as I began to make my way towards the thicket of the vegetation. The mere presence of it was almost overwhelming.

I held my white-blonde locks away from my sweaty neck as I pondered for a moment. My normally wavy tresses were straightened by the heavy dampness of the air. I let it go and it dropped against my back. My thoughts never strayed from the thickness of the jungle as I started to walk along the tree line instead of plunging headfirst into the mass. It seemed like the smarter thing to do, rather than walking aimlessly in circles amongst the strange _trees_.

_Perhaps my logic isn't as screwed up as the condition of my body at the moment._

At that moment, I gave a silent thanks to God for having my shoes in a more preferable condition than my late dress.

I walked closer to the line of foliage, using it as a guide, but also as a way for protection in case I decided to hide myself from something unpleasant coming my way.

The air seemed quiet, despite the breeze that cooled my sweating brow. It hung densely in the air, as if it had not the strength to rustle the thick leaves that hung from the large trees. I sighed, trying to ignore the slight tremble. I hated my fear. It was a trait that had been a constant companion for most of my life. If only my hatred for it would threaten its existence. I smiled briefly before a sudden noise met my ears.

I jumped and skittered towards the trees, as I felt the adrenaline pump through my veins. My suddenly alerted ears picked up on the noise again and my mind was startled when it had recognized it as human voices. My heart fluttered with anticipation and a short lived joy as I peeked through the leaves. The source of the noise had come from a pair of identical looking boys, rushing past my hidden spot towards the direction that I had originally been traveling in.

I couldn't catch their words, for they had run past me too quickly. Yet I wasn't about to let them out of my sight. Before my thoughts could catch up with my actions, I sprinted out from the bushes and began to run. I ran with all my strength, which wasn't that impressive at the moment. After about fifteen minutes of the run, my strength began to fail me and I slowed to a stop.

My breath was coming in short gasps. The incoming of the wet air seemed to torture my dry throat. Water sounded heavenly at the moment. My body reacted on impulse towards the thought of acquiring something to drink and I instantly looked towards the large body of water.

I remembered the agonizing sting that that water had forced my arm to endure before my awakening. My enthusiasm was immediately dampened, for I had also remembered the taste.

_Salt water… it is most likely the sea. How stupid of me to think otherwise._

I then turned my attention to the wood once again. I reasoned that fresh water may be hidden within its wild depths, or at least I hoped that it was. My body found a small resort of strength to make it back to the tree line. With a deep breath of courage, I plunged in.

The wild life instantly came to life. The insects… the birds… even a stray wild pig ran past me. My skittish mind could care less at the moment, as my goal was only water.

In my feverish, mindless pursuit, I couldn't detect the strange way that the earth had slightly begun to mound beneath my feet. How it was soft, as if freshly dug. Before I could let out a more than a strangled squeal of fright, I had fallen into the hole. My fingers pulled a pile of recently torn branches and leaves to soon follow me down.

The feeling of the almost animalistic terror as I fell to the bottom was too much for my weakened state. Blackness clouded and finally shut out my vision before I hit the soft bottom where more of the freshly upturned earth had laid.

Had I been conscious for a moment longer, I would have detected the faint cries of triumph that echoed in the distance.

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**A/N:** Comments are welcome, but be nice as this is my very first fanfic. ;)


	2. Uncovered

**Chapter 2- Uncovered**

**A/N:** Thank you all so much for the reviews! They really made my day.

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_Lilc00kieluvr_- Hey it's nice to hear from you! Thanks for the review and to answer your question, yes I do have a couple of ideas for names, but you'll have to wait and see. ;)

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The overwhelming darkness was relief from the nightmarish world that I had previously found myself in. There was nothing I wished more than wanting it all to be a dream. I wanted to wake up in the plane, laughing over the absurdity of the surreal visions. Sad reality has a way of hitting you at the worst possible moment, however. I found this out as my head lolled to the side and received a mouthful of vile tasting earth.

My eyes flew open at the unpleasant surprise and I began to violently cough out the dusty remnants from my already parched mouth. To my dismay, some had already traveled down my throat, burning my lungs.

As my awareness grew, I realized the great pain of pressure being applied to both of my ankles. I took in my surroundings. Straight above me was the canopy of the strange trees.

_So I must still be in the woods… and being dragged on my back. _ I silently confirmed with a growing panic.

I also noticed that I was being dragged by a tangle of thick foliage that looked and felt a lot like vines. I guessed that it had been tangled in my legs during my short struggle falling into the pit. The memory of it caused a pain to shoot through my aching head. I groaned when I was roughly dragged through a bed of sharp rocks without warning. We were now out of the wood, and out in the open of a beach similar to the one I had previously woken up in.

I lifted my head to the perpetrators. My loud accusations that were being prepared in my head began to wield its sharp edges when I saw a group of the boys instantly recognizable from the plane. There happened to only be a few. _Choir boys perhaps…? And are those spears they're holding?_

Without another moment of hesitation, I began to wildly kick at my assailants holding the bonds. Two of the boys, taken aback by the sudden movement from the previously unconscious girl, allowed the vines to slide through their grip. The third, however, wasn't so easily overwhelmed by the burden and instantly turned around to mercilessly haul me closer to him with only his free hand. He was stronger than what his boney frame suggested.

My position was most awkward as I lay there; my eyes were burning with intense aversion into his. I shivered slightly as I inspected his face. Most of his features were jutting and quite plain, yet the arrogant smirk that I had just noticed began to twist his face in a most unattractive way. The unruly red hair seemed to only emphasize his mismatched features. His eyes mirrored the same intensity as mine, which had caused the small shiver in the beginning. I mentally slapped myself for letting him see me falter so, for it caused a gleam of triumph to shine in his cold, blue eyes.

"Let. Me. Go." I spoke in a haughty voice that was quite low.

I was not accustomed to speaking so unkindly, but this boy seemed to deserve plenty of my rudeness in return for his.

The red-haired boy only laughed. This angered me far more than any smart retort would have. Out of the corner of my eye, I was taken aback to see a few clusters of boys, most fairly young, scattered amongst the beach line. _So there are others that survived aside from the rude choir boys. _This caused the corner of my mouth to curve slightly. I turned my attention back to the redhead.

"Is this how you normally treat a young lady?" I asked, trying my attempt best attempt at what a grownup would say at this as well as a scowl, but it hadn't turned out as convincing as I had hoped. The joy at finding other survivors overwhelmed my other senses.

"I don't see a lady." He spoke coldly as he brought the tip of his spear close to my throat. I tried not to react, but I did lean my head closer to the ground, away from the spear. Some of the passion had been lost from my anger at the moment as I saw his face morph from amusement to clear enmity with a hint of something more intense that I couldn't name. My breath came a bit deeper, causing my chest to move visibly. My fingers curled and tightened into the soft dirt as the sweat began to surface to my skin. The end of the spear slowly lowered, close to my collar bone. I could feel the end glide against my skin, which only further tightened my muscles. My blood began to pound in my ears.

The tense moment was suddenly interrupted by a small group of boys that had hurriedly approached. As quickly as it had happened, the redhead took the spear away from me and held it with deceptive casualness, mimicking his deceptive nonchalant from before.

"Jack, what are you doing? I _thought_ you said you were going to hunt! Well, I don't see-"the speaker was cut off when he saw me. He was quite plump and wore thick round glasses, which greatly emphasized the widened, shocked look that his eyes bore.

The redhead apparently named Jack dropped the vines with his one hand and scanned his eyes across the length of the beach before settling his eyes once again on the plump boy. The aggravation was thick across Jack's face. "Shut up, Fatty."

"His _name_ is Piggy." A new voice entered the small gathering. Most of the boys began to snicker at the statement. A small look of betrayal distorted Piggy's face for a quick moment before it was replaced with a look of indifference. I looked up to see another boy, slightly shorter than Jack. He was fair-haired and was the owner of an athletic frame. His dark blue eyes looked over at me. Soon I could feel that every pair of the boy's eyes trained intensely on me. I couldn't tell if it was out of shock that they had found a girl or the fact that they didn't know how to converse with one.

I thought that I could detect concern through the fair-haired boy's eyes, yet I wasn't sure due to the sudden flush of embarrassment that had washed over me. I swiftly averted my gaze. I felt the unpleasant heat pour over my face as I quickly sat up to yank at the twisted cords around my ankles. My hands were shaking with the effort. I was still quite dehydrated and felt sick to my stomach with my current situation. I bit hard on my bottom lip in a failed attempt to hide the emotional stress from my face.

_No… not here in front of all these boys. _

My racing thoughts were interrupted by a rough hand that began to gently cut the vines away with what looked like a pocket knife.

The vines were soon discarded to my side. I slowly looked up at my helper and was silently greeted with the presently soft appearing eyes of the fair-haired boy. The other boys were looking on warily, while Jack simply looked impatient and a bit tense. The fair-haired boy offered a slight half smile when he had caught my eyes.

"Thanks." I croaked. My voice sounded like the scrapping of sandpaper, which made my cheeks flush dark red with even more embarrassment.

The fair-haired boy seemed to suddenly change his demeanor and resumed into what his role must have been. The leader.

"Simon, could you get her some water? I'm going to show her to one of the shelters. And everyone else should get back to their jobs that we've just assigned a moment ago." He spoke this in a louder voice as he stood up for emphasis.

I saw a frail boy to the right, whom the leader had called Simon, a little bit separated from the crowd giving the leader a quick nod before running off into the wood. I began to feel pretty useless while the boys around me began to hurry back to their intended roles. The littleuns were particularly enthusiastic.

The bold surroundings began to grow a little blurry as I made the mistake of climbing to my feet a bit too quickly. I felt a hand grip my arm firmly, though not painfully. It helped a bit and was doubly embarrassed that it was the leader again. I hated it whenever my weaknesses were apparent.

He also seemed a bit embarrassed by the contact. "Uh, sorry... You just can't seem to stay on your feet." His voice was light, easing my discomfort when I realized a moment later that he was only joking.

I gave a small, polite smile. My own stress was forgotten for the moment as I followed him to one of the 'shelters' that the littleuns had been attempting to make with a few of the big'uns. I felt somewhat guilty that the task was given to them, but they seemed to enjoy doing something. Probably to keep their minds occupied and their hands full. My own mind drifted to my home and family in back in England, which tore at my heart. I quickly took on the example of the others and distracted myself. I was about to speak to the fair-haired leader, but he beat me to it.

"Oh, and, uh… I'm Ralph by the way." He spoke without turning his head. I focused on the back of his neck, wondering about the slight stutter in the beginning of his sentence. Perhaps he was just upset as I was by our situation… If he was, then he hid it well. I wish I had that kind of strength, where someone could put on a strong face and maybe even offer a kind smile for others that were hurting. Even if they were going through the same Hell.

"It's nice to meet you Ralph." It felt strange addressing an acquaintance by their first name. But it felt good to taste his name for the first time. It was only polite to give my first name in return. "My name's Lydia." I suddenly grew shy when I had finally spoken my name to him. It felt like a piece of me was being offered for his taking. A strange thought actually… but I ignored it. Stupid thoughts had no place in a time like this.

Ralph didn't seem to notice my reaction and waited for me to go first once we reached the makeshift shelter. I regarded it with its palm roof. It took a lot for me to suppress a giggle, almost as if we were children building forts in our backyards. The idea of such innocent fun goaded me forward, crawling through, feeling as if I were currently the grand age of five. I sat myself down in the soft sand, momentarily forgetting the horrible events that had brought us here. He crouched so that he could still address me while remaining outside.

"I know they're not the greatest, but we've just started making them yesterday." I swore that I could detect a slight coloring in his cheeks after saying that. I couldn't help a slight inward smile at this. Ralph looked at me a little longer before suddenly looking away. A littlun had started crying. A couple of other boys called for the 'chief'.

"Uh… excuse me," Ralph said hurriedly as he left.

Soon Simon had arrived with a few coconut shells filled to the brim with water. It took great difficulty for him to crawl in without spilling any. I forgot eloquence and grabbed at them without thought and began to gulp. The water tasted like heaven against my paper dry throat. When I had finished the last bit of the water, my stomach started to protest its hunger to my ears, causing a dark flush of humiliation to creep into my face. Some fruit had already been placed before me without my noticing, and I was soon devouring them.

When I had finished, I was slightly taken aback at the rate and urgency at which I had completely consumed everything in sight. My stupid flush began its routine since the past hour. Annoying, indeed.

Simon appeared to be trying not to notice my ravenous cravings and their results. His head was turned towards the outside with a dreamy look to his eyes. After a few moments of assessing him, he finally turned to face me.

"How are you feeling?" He questioned in a quiet voice. I was surprised by how distant he sounded, as if he were having trouble breaking away from some mental rant. I pondered his peculiar expression, wishing to intrude upon his mind to see the world from his perspective.

"Better… thank you." I mumbled back, looking down at my worn shoes. They were brown and quite plain looking, as was my white under dress. _Oh my gosh! _I had forgotten what I was wearing in front of the boys! I blushed a deep cherry red, trying not to at Simon again. _How stupid of me. Maybe being tortured in the wool dress was worth the ensuing awkwardness. _A growing scowl was beginning to have its mark on my face. The further I thought about it, the more aggravated I felt.

Simon was watching my varying moods with interest. I also noticed that he hadn't been looking at me as most of the other hormonal boys had been—or at least, in my mind's eye, that's how I saw it. Perhaps I was just paranoid. This was the first time that I've ever been in the presence of so many boys without a single girl. He gave me a polite smile as he got up to leave, yet I could detect a hidden uncertainty behind it.

"I'll see you later," He spoke as he left. I concluded that Simon must be wary of me. It mattered not at this point, though I was determined to find out more about him. I cautiously crawled out of the fragile shelter, trying not to give more work to the poor littleuns.

The sky was beginning to show signs of the coming night. The long shadows were growing in the thick wood, giving it an entirely different manner about it. Instead of just being strange looking, it was now ominous. I felt my skin crawl before facing the ocean and the reddish-orange sunset reflecting off the sea.

As for the boys, several of them were beginning to rest. I saw Piggy and a few others tending to a fire currently being used to cook something that the choir boys had caught… according to their loud bragging that is. The thought of Jack suddenly made me feel ill.

I noticed Ralph sitting close to the shore. I quietly joined him, trying my best to not be a nuisance by being noisy. By the time I sat comfortably in the coarse sand, we both remained quiet for a while longer just watching the sun's progress into the horizon. I slipped my shoes off to dip my feet into the cool water. It felt nice to be barefoot.

"How long has it been?" I asked him quietly.

"You mean since we crashed?"

I looked over at his profile, hoping to catch his eyes. Yet he seemed focused upon some other train of deep thought, so he remained as if not noticing my movement. I took the liberty of studying his face. His blue eyes seemed a bit lighter whenever he was just thinking, momentarily free of duties. I felt myself longing to see further into them. His cheekbones were mid to high in proportion to this face, though there was still a tiny bit of childishness to his look. My eyes trailed down to his lips followed by a strong looking jaw.

"Hmm… so this is an island." I spoke as I furthered my assessment of him.

He must have felt the intensity of my stare, for he looked straight at me as he spoke. I got a strange thrill in the pit of my stomach when I got the full view of his eyes.

"I honestly don't know how long it's been. I find it—hard to think of life outside this island at the moment." His voice was strangely low as he spoke. I supposed that it was to keep any emotion from coming out through his words.

The past memories began to assault me again. I pulled my legs up and hugged them against my chest, hoping to protect myself against the pain. My heart felt that it was being torn to pieces. Instead of hiding it however, I kept Ralph's eye contact. "I know what you mean." I shook slightly as I bit my lip to better control myself. Luckily my previous dehydration had left me unable to produce sufficient tears.

Ralph hesitantly rested his hand on my shoulder as a means of comfort. The skin contact felt like the sting of electricity. It was a completely new and exhilarating feeling. Was that normal? Ralph abruptly removed his hand, suddenly looking unsure of himself. From the look on his face, I was wondering if he had felt it similarly.

My torn heart suddenly began beating rapidly. The skin that he had momentarily touched felt warmed over by the simple gesture, which began to cool after his sudden withdrawal. I desperately wanted to rekindle it, but my civil mind berated me for thinking such indecency.

I was suddenly aware of a different kind of stare. My gaze slowly peered over my shoulder, trying not to appear too direct with the motion, but was stilled when I met with the darkened eyes of Jack from across the fire. He was with a dark boy that I had not met yet. They were both sharpening their spears. Jack's gaze was wild, barely contained within a seemingly calm looking face. He was angry, I could tell that much at least, but he was looking at me in a way that I could only describe as possessive. It reminded me of how a little child would look if their favorite sweet had been snatched away from them by another.

I hastily looked back to the darkening sky in front of me, not caring at all about being inconspicuous after being caught by the culprit I was trying to catch a glimpse of.

The sun had completely gone. I would soon be at the mercy of the night, growing darker with each passing minute.

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	3. Water Turns to Blood

**Chapter 3- Water Turns to Blood**

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**A/N:** _I'm so sorry for the long wait on the update… My life has just been so crazy and sometimes unexpected things get in the way of my creative writing. I'll try to write as much as I can… well as much as working and college courses will allow me, lol. Again, I'm very sorry. Thank you for the lovely reviews! 3_

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My dreams gradually faded into the interior shape of the small shelter that I had been sleeping in for the duration of the night and most of the morning. The nightly visions were filled with darkness and the discomforting animalistic-like grunts and gnashing. I could have sworn that the noises were indeed animals, but dreams were never concise about such things. My slight uneasiness about the dream noises ebbed away as my sleepy green eyes lazily trained upon the opening of the shelter where the unmercifully bright sunlight filtered in. Mornings were never my favorite time of the day. Despite my grumpiness towards the cheerfulness that nature had splendidly decided to display this morning, I slowly pushed myself up. The sore muscles in my arms protested such an action, but my mind and heart quickened when I heard a small noise outside the shelter resembling the ones from my dreams.

The muscles tightened in my back and throat as I listened further. A breeze came through, ruffling the mess of my blonde tresses and spreading the scent of my outside surroundings. There was definitely a fire burning. But there was something else, something that I couldn't quite detect, but it was something that caused my stomach to start complaining of hunger.

With a dry groan, I crawled a short distance to the opening of the tent. With small hesitation, I moved my head through the opening, my palms gripping the fine sand underneath me as I leaned forward for support. Some of the littleuns were crowded around the fire. More towards the center of the small gathering were a couple of biguns, none of whom I recognized from the day before. All I could tell was that some kind of food was being distributed.

I had been around boys before; my two older brothers back in England sometimes didn't show the best behavior attributed to most civilized people, but these boys before me were extremely animalistic in the way that the food was being consumed. My stomach churned slightly at this and my eyes lowered in careful thought. How long have we even been on this island? How much longer until some of us loose it completely?

My thoughts were interrupted by someone softly greeting me. I turned my head towards one of the boys. His name floated around in my mind for a moment before it reached my lips. "Simon?"

"Yes." He replied simply, almost curt, as those dream-like grey eyes assessed me. The sun was particularly bright in his direction, giving him an almost glowing quality despite how dirty he really was with the island's grime. I grew uneasy with his assessment, as his look was quite strange, as if I were a new class of plant to a botanist.

After a few seconds, Simon seemed to snap out of it and held something out to me. It was red.

"What is it?" I asked as I took it from him without even thinking of the grubby state of my own white hands. My stomach churned slightly when the scent of it wafted towards me. It appeared to be some kind of meat, but the thought of finding such meat on this strange island didn't necessarily settle with me.

"Eat it. It's what's left from the last hunt. But they should be back soon." He spoke with a lighter tone this time. "It's… um, good." His eyes avoided mine, a sudden frown set within his face as he turned his full attention to the sand at his feet, in which he was drawing something with a long stick.

Deciding to take his word for it, I bit into one of the ends of the strip of meat. The red meat's taste caused my stomach to almost protest at its entrance into my body. Instead of giving it back, I willed myself to swallow it, not knowing when my next meal may be. The taste was rather bland with hints of the smoke that once must have enveloped it over the fire. I wiped my mouth with my left wrist. With a glance at my wrist, I noted how dirty I still was. If only there weren't so many boys at the shore… I looked at the ocean's tide along the beach. It looked rather nice to take a quick swim.

Without further conversation, Simon got up from his place and walked over to the fire site. Feeling a little bit better than before, I finally crawled out of the shelter and quickly righted my under-dress before any eyes traveled in my direction, which I would have ignored nonetheless. The trees swayed in the wind, a chilling sigh, giving the impression that the island was still in power over us and our predicament. The fire even seemed to grow excited within the unexpected oncoming of wind. The blonde headed boy, Ralph rushed towards the fire where Simon had just seated himself nearby with some dry brush. The large boy with glasses followed Ralph like a faithful lapdog, though he was lagging behind.

After the fire was under control, Ralph finally sat down, a reassured look on his face. Just then, he shifted his eyes in my direction. In turn, I tore my gaze away from him and towards the sudden movement deep within the tangled forest. With every second, the boyish shouts of triumph grew louder and louder. Ralph followed my gaze. Other biguns that were behind me suddenly ran forward towards the line of trees shouting in unison with the party in the forest. "Hey they're back!" "Finally…"

The emergence of vivid red within the distance told me that Jack was in the front while the others carried the weight of their sport. Disdain had already set within me whenever I thought of him, more so due to the chilling look that I had received from him last night. I walked a little bit closer to the commotion of the boys, but still kept my distance from the small crowd. Simon appeared to pay little attention, looking instead towards the flickering fire which he faced.

Jack caught sight of me, sporting an instant, proud smirk upon his face. The other hunters dropped their catch in a designated spot near the fire. Something feral flashed across Jack before he suddenly plunged his spear into the side of the pig, viciously burrowing it further beneath a section of its flesh and pulled away until the sound of ripping tissue filled the air. I could feel my revulsion give rise, but forced my facial expression into neutrality. With another pull away from the dead animal, a large slab of flesh finally came away from the pig. Jack stabbed the large piece with his spear and lifted it in front of him. The blood trickled down, coating the pointed stick as he strode towards me.

Jack licked his cracked lips before speaking. "I say the best part goes to Lydia first!" He announced amongst the others around him. I couldn't help but feel my eyes go wide at this; the clammy sweat began to form within my palms as he walked closer. The bloody piece of meat seemed to taunt me with its sticky, wet mass. "Go ahead, take it." He urged it closer, his eyes growing strangely more aggressive and dark. I stiffened, while clenching my cold hands into fists, hanging useless by my side. What in the world did he expect from me? To accept this? Take it with my bare hands?

The revulsion began to leak onto my face. My eyebrows lowered slightly and my jaw set stubbornly as my head slightly shook. I took a step back; my eyes hardened. I would never voluntarily give him satisfaction for whatever he had in mind at the moment. I turned around and began to walk towards the creepers. The silence was thick behind me. Even the littleuns had grown quiet; looking up from their current activity to see what was going on. After a moment, I grew faster in my pace. When I broke the tree line, I ran. I needed to get away. I needed to clear my head… to get that image of Jack's dark eyes and the bloody pig out of my mind.

The trees seemed to reach out, trying to grab at and scratch my bare legs whenever possible. My pale, blonde hair even got caught a couple of times, leaving long strands behind, tangled within the branch's dark fingers. It felt like some time had passed before there was a refreshing clearance. My eyes scanned the small opening apprehensively. Relief rushed into my system like the rapid oncoming of anesthesia when my ears suddenly picked up on the sound of a spring. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth when I spied the water. It was near the rocky wall of what appeared to be a cave, its gaping mouth open and vulnerable to the cruel jungle. The water pooled into a rocky crevice, creating a very shallow, natural pool.

A small laugh escaped me as I rushed to the side, cupping and gulping water as best as I could. My dry throat welcomed the cool liquid and my muscles seemed to relax within my elation upon this find. "Now I can finally wash." I spoke out loud, feeling blissfully alone in this moment. My fingers quickly grabbed at the hem of my under-dress and pulled it over my mass of hair, leaving myself only in my white underwear and bra. I froze for a moment when I thought I heard something rustle within the thick jungle wall and began to listen intently. The trees still swayed gently in the wind, playing the best it could at innocence. Everything else was deathly quiet aside from my own shallow breath. Feeling a sigh of relief coming, I relaxed myself, knowing I truly was alone. I cautiously looked down at my scratched legs and arms as I lowered myself into the pool. It was so shallow that it could only come up to the top of my abdomen while sitting. With gentle fingers, I rubbed the cool water into my skin, trying to rid myself of all the dirt and grime. It eventually began to come off a little easier after a few minutes, leaving the red scratches of the jungle more clearly defined upon the pale, white skin.

I cautiously looked down at my bra. I had first started wearing one two years ago, given to me by my mother. She suggested that I start off with smaller bras, since my breasts were just developing. Just before leaving on the plane, I was supposed to pick up a new size at the store. It was starting to get a little snug. I tugged gingerly at the straps, trying to make the cloth a little looser upon my mounds. After the strap adjustments, I began to feel a bit more comfortable. And with that, I noticed a small bit of red underneath the water, directly on my underwear. Feeling a bit alarmed, I quickly pulled them off and picked them out of the water. The water was heavily running off my panties as I inspected spots of bright red blood.

_No! No! This cannot be happening now! I can't deal with this…_

_Of course_, my period would decide to come a week early at a time like this, I thought sarcastically. My head felt dizzy as I tried to think of what I could wear for it in the meantime. Girls should not have to deal with this while being stranded! I had only started having my period since last year and was still trying to get used to the fact that I would have to deal with this for many years into the future every twenty-eight days...

Bitter tears began to streak my cheeks as I pulled my underwear back on under the water. Everything that had happened from two days ago up until now began to come out at an extremely rapid pace. I pulled my knees tightly against my chest and wept against them, my teeth clenching. Darkness suited me best whenever I cried. My eyes shut tightly against the world, wishing nothing more than to be safely within my comfortable home, surrounded by my insufferable mother, overprotective father, and obnoxious older brothers. At this mental image of my family, I choked on my own sobbing creating an almost strangled noise amongst the empty trees. As I lifted my head and turned to glance at the tall, heartless trees staring back down at me, the tears began to cease.

The water around me now stood still aside from the occasional ripple from my almost-still body. Although it was poor, I could see a faint reflection of myself. I casually looked over my shoulder and was suddenly struck by the image of my wild blonde hair, the angry red scratches and bruises over my skin, and the haunted look of my green orbs staring back me. After a moment of doing nothing, my hand slowly made it to the top of my hair and began to roughly comb through the tangles. Most of it wouldn't come out, but with a little water, it began to take on a slightly better appearance.

After a few splashes to the face, I finally stood up. Droplets of water clung to my skin as I tried to wipe off most the moisture before struggling back into my under-dress. Just as the dress slipped through my head, I heard the sudden disturbance of foliage again, only this time it was nearby. The sound of shaken leaves made my heart nearly jumped out of my chest as I hurriedly pulled the dress into place and began to frantically search the area with my accusing eyes.

There was no further sound, however. The atmosphere had decided to take on its silent stance against me once again, unwilling to reveal the secrets of what it had just seen. Further confused, I began to take on the idea that it was either a wild pig or one of the boys. I hope it was the wild pig.

With that, I began to run through the trees again, trying to remember how to get to the spring for future reference. Although I still had difficulty with the outreaching branches, I felt a little more used to the unpredictability of the jungle and was able to make it through more efficiently. By the time I had reached my destination, I was breathing my own relief that I didn't have to deal with the foliage slapping into my face and legs. I emerged from the creepers to the exact place where I had woken from the crash. Looking frantically around, I quickly located the thick dress that I had tossed aside two days ago. I grabbed at the fabric and began to try and rip some of the under fabric that wasn't as durable and thick as the wool. Perhaps I could get that with something sharp later… After tearing off a few strips, I began to create make-shift cloths by wrapping it into many layers.

_These should do…_

I quickly slipped it into my underwear, after looking around for unwanted eyes, finally glad to have something there for the bleeding. I swiftly folded the rest of the dress and tucked it under my arm, now finding it to be one of the most valuable things on this island.

Just as I did so, a ripple of movement went through the brush just as a figure emerged from the creepers. It was the fair-haired one. Um… Ralph. I could feel my cheeks already growing warm, hoping that he wouldn't question the reasons for my coming back here. I hope that he hadn't been following me, but I swallowed my suspicions for now. It took me awhile to find my own voice, having not used it in awhile today.

"Hullo?" I voiced uneasily, slightly moving the thick dress closer to my back. Ralph gives a half smile, probably at the prospect of finding me here and walked towards me. My thoughts drifted for a moment as I waited. It was then that I noticed and contemplated the fact that Ralph was the only one on the island that came close to Jack's tall, thin stature. They were most likely evenly matched, something that made sense to me, for some reason, seeing their differing characteristics and stances, both powerful yet differing sides of humanity. Jack seemed more prone to instinct and reluctant to resist his desires, whereas Ralph appeared to hold it together better. Could he still relate to normal human temptations?

I had a feeling that he could.

"What brings you hear?" Ralph questioned, though it sounded rather off-hand, as his eyes drifted towards the ocean. My eyes focused on his, noting how the blue was bright and rich as opposed to the cold, icy ones of Jack's.

"Well, I just needed… to get away for a little bit." It was sort of the truth, so it should suffice. There was a slight shrug to my shoulders as I shifted my eyes to the ocean as well. "It's like an impassable wall." I spoke a bit quieter and solemn about the ocean. I felt Ralph look at me and towards what I was staring at.

"I was just thinking the same thing." His voice sounded far away.

"Well, you know, we're not expected back anytime soon." I tried at a slightly playful tone as I took a few steps closer to the shore with a quick look over my shoulder at Ralph. It was difficult under our morbid circumstances, but I managed to pull off a crooked smile at his quizzical expression.

"Yea…" He spoke as if still trying to decide what to do. Eventually he followed and sat next to me as I had already plopped ungracefully onto the soft sand.

The grey sky looked as if were churning something treacherous, the distant roll of thunder confirmed my suspicions. I secretly loved storms, but wasn't so sure of them out here on the strange island with its outreached, wild branches. A sense of uneasiness suddenly came over me as I assessed my situation. The island frightened me, there were all boys with no girls, some of the boys were already acting like the savages they were. I smiled at the last part, thinking of my stupid brothers. Perhaps there was a bit of savagery in all of us. I then shivered at the prospect, looking over at Ralph, sitting next to me. Could he be like that?

The thought of witnessing Ralph doing something even remotely savage-like, acting out solely on primal instinct gave me a strange, strong sensation. My heart raced slightly in pace and the heat rose from my cheeks before it settled heavily into my abdomen. My cramps were momentarily relieved under this feeling. I really shouldn't be feeling something like this over something as strange as an obscure thought.

To distract myself, I asked a question. "What was your life before the island?"

Ralph was quiet for so long, I was about to pull back the question and bring something else up, but he finally spoke just as I took a breath.

"Before the war, I lived fairly normal… well whatever that means. My father's always been busy… too busy for anything else that didn't involve the military. My mother stayed at home. I'm an only child and I went to all-boys private school." He paused to look at the sand where the tide grew, almost reaching his feet. "I suppose that my story's not much different than any other's here. We middle-class folk lead pretty boring lives." He smirked slightly.

I followed suit with his ironic smile. "And don't we hate this frightening interruption of our mundane lives."

Ralph laughed at that. "My mind is still in the outside world. However, some of us are completely within this island. This is their life now, their existence." He murmured, loud enough for my ears. I could see the stress of being the leader weighing on him, the bags under his eyes and the tiredness within his long limbs. "I still keep the fire going."

I couldn't help but feel bad for him, for how visible everything rested upon his shoulders. Against my better judgment, I scooted a little closer and rested my hand gently upon his bare forearm. His skin was warm and strong against mine, still white and soft, untouched by the harshness of work and conditions of the island. I could feel the muscles beneath his tough skin tighten; his face growing more intense and focused on my touch. Before much thought, I moved my hand further up his arm, feeling a strange sense of power in his reaction. His breath hitched; it was so silent I would have missed it had I not been listening for him. The heat was definitely there between us, as it was the night before. It felt scorching to my innocent body and mind.

My hand instantly withdrew to myself, feeling instantly guilty. Ralph was right; our minds should still be in the real world. In the real world, I would have wanted to do this right. And this was not the right time or place.

"I'm sorry." I whispered, looking down.

I couldn't see his face, but his voice sounded a little bit weak in the beginning before once again regaining its strength. "So, uh, you don't like pig meat, huh?" He spoke lightly, changing the subject.

I chuckled and looked at him again. "Well, if it's life or death, I'll take it. But, to answer your question… not really. Fish sounds better." I spoke the last part, looking towards the ocean, now picking up some vertigo from the coming stormy atmosphere.

A thoughtful look overcame Ralph's face just as the sound of Piggy's huffed voice shouted from behind where we were sitting. "There...there" He stopped just after emerging from the creepers to take another breath. "There you are! Ralph, you-you better come back, now!"


	4. The Games that Animals Play

Chapter 4- The Games that Animals Play

There was hardly any further explanation as we made our way back towards the main beach. Piggy was constantly urging us forward, an alarmed expression distorted his pudgy facial features. The alarm that I received due to the scratches I received from the branches was hardly noticeable compared to the menacing way in which the sky darkened into a deep, stormy grey. The coming of the night was also fast approaching, deviantly masking the turbulence within the sky. The audible rip of my dress getting caught on a branch filled the air as I turned my head upwards to view the sight. When I looked down, I groaned at the sight of a large tear making its way quickly towards my upper thigh. The sight of my milky white leg was quite unnerving and severely indecent from what I've been taught by society. Instead of worrying, I kept moving forward, trying not to lose sight of Ralph's blonde head as it delved into the shadows ahead. My impatient hand ripped a chunk of the annoying fabric so that it would no longer catch onto the thicket of the jungle. My under-dress was now jagged and short, above my knees, much easier to run in.

By the time we reached the actual beach, the sun had just escaped into the horizon, hiding its face from the horrid sight of what had been going on. I almost ran into the now still standing Ralph and Piggy as soon as I had finally broken through the line of the trees. They appeared to be frozen, with Piggy staring ahead at the chaos about the fire on the beach, where as Ralph stared at the top of Castle rock (as I heard some of them call it) and it was completely dark. His fire had gone out. Just as I turned to look at the wild sight of boys chanting and moving in wild motion, my attention as caught by the distance light upon the dark ocean.

My whole world melted away at that moment. My hope and heart was focused upon that one spot of pitiful light that grew smaller and smaller with the second. It was like being graced with a vision of the outside world apart from this ugly one that had been my reality for the past… only God knows how long. I heard the sound of a wrenching sob escaping the constraints of a dry throat. It wasn't loud, but instead sounded rather pitiful, like the wounding of a small animal.

After a few confusing moments, I realized that my mouth had been open and the source of the strange noise. Instantly, I closed it and time seemed to return to its normal, cruel pace. The fire on the beach flickered with inconsistent rhythm, like the beat of my own erratic heart at the broken moment. The boys around it danced and tasted the red meat of their sport without restraint. Their own movement that was both strangely enticing and terribly menacing like the appearance of the strange trees when I had first woken from the crash.

I couldn't really make out Piggy's angry babble, as soon as I saw Jack among the crowd of the boys. He was dressed peculiarly strange without a shirt and dark red blood speared upon his face and chest. His pale eyes bore uncomfortably into mine. I couldn't help but to stare back and felt only numbness in doing so. His face turned particularly cruel and his eyes darkened with delight.

The sounds began to come clearer for me as my eyes glazed over the pig meat that the boys were all excited over. Roger took a particularly rare piece and had its blood and juices dripping down his chin. I felt my mouth tightened into a frown.

"Jack! You let the signal go out. Your hunters were responsible for it tonight!" Piggy spoke with an accusing tone, his large, round glasses glinted from the light of the cooking fire.

Jack merely shrugged as his eyes of indifference barely even looked in Piggy's direction. "We were occupied… hunting." He spoke so nonchalantly and yet his eyes bore heavily in my direction that I received a startling chill ghost up my spine. My eyes nervously shifted in Ralph's direction, wanting to be in his strong presence. He didn't seem to notice our small eye exchange, however, but his face was nonetheless flushed with anger.

"You do realize that someone could have rescued us!" He snapped as he stepped closer to the equally imposing figure of Jack. I turned my head, allowing the frame of my wavy, white blonde hair to hide my face. I wouldn't allow them to see my emotion. I couldn't trust these boys… not one. Ralph was probably the closest I would consider, but my emotions were all I had left to hide from them. My name was now theirs for their carnivorous lips to utter. I would not offer any more.

I turned back slightly to see Jack's face pale by a few degrees. The others except whom he was facing: Ralph, Piggy, and me, could see this small transformation in his seemingly unbreakable will and pride. Jack's pale eyes looked over to the small blinking dot of light, now almost gone into the horizon of darkness.

The corner of his mouth quivered, though I felt that it was more out of frustration at some unknown motive than over our missed window of opportunity.

This time, Roger stood up and wiped his bloodied face with his forearm. The blood was now smeared over his dark skin. He then released a laugh. It was rather low and sounded more like a demonic chuckle than from a boy of his age and size. My brows furrowed at him. He tossed a chunk of the meat towards Ralph. Ralph, taken by surprise, caught it by instinct when one throws something at someone.

"We caught a sow, _leader_" Roger spoke with pride, though his eyes were condescending towards Ralph, almost challenging. My gaze quickly traveled towards the spear resting near Roger's previous resting spot. It was covered up to the middle with dark red. How had he soiled it with so much blood? The question sent another shiver of horror down my back as my stomach suddenly felt jostled by the scent of their meat.

Ralph had a torn look upon his face. He hadn't even looked at the sport of their catch, which he held in his hands. Now the rest of the boys were starting to follow Roger's lead with the challenging stance against their leader. What was he going to do; continue with his standpoint about our almost rescue or be the leader that _they_ wanted him to be.

Seeing the situation for what it was, I took a step closer to Ralph, reached for the meat in his hands and took it without resistance. Ralph's eyes traveled towards me with a look of surprise and confusion. Having his blue eyes on me made me feel more confident in what I was going to do. I wasn't about to let the hunters be triumphant in the possible tossing away of their own leader. My green eyes locked with Roger's, who now looked back at me with great contempt. Trying my best to keep a stony expression, I brought the unsavory meat to my mouth and sank my teeth into its rare redness. With great difficulty, I forced myself to take the bite and chew on the mass.

All eyes were on me at this point, which caused a small blush to creep up upon my cheeks. I could feel a small drizzle of the blood escape my mouth and trickle down my chin. It was then that all the hunters except Roger and Jack started to laugh. A couple of them took Ralph and Piggy by the arms and brought them into their little circle, giving them a share of the meat. Roger's mouth twisted into a scowl and his eyes were absolutely fiendish towards my direction. Jack looked at me with a different expression altogether. His eyes appeared to be momentarily vacant and his mouth slightly open with a dark, greedy appearance to his eyes.

Feeling the same fear crawl back into the back of my mind, I sat next to Ralph where the others had brought him: close to the fire. My eyes sought his, hoping for a different kind of stare, something more comforting. Instead, I saw almost the same dark and forceful look within his eyes as I had seen in Jack's, even though he tried to avert his attention towards the fire, hiding it from me.

Some of the others continued on with their chant and wild storytelling in how they had killed the sow. Since I was clearly not in the mood to listen to their savagery, I instead focused on the humming tension that seemed to cross the air separating me and Ralph, particularly where our knees almost touched. I didn't know what to make of this, as my innocent mind offered up no answers, so I simply reveled in it. Piggy was speaking to me, though I couldn't hear the words. It simply sounded like the annoying static in radio stations.

The reveling soon turned into frustration for me as the warm feeling in the pit of my stomach grew to an almost unbearable heat. I had no idea how to get rid of it, to relieve my body of its torture. Without thinking, I moved closer and my hand accidently brushed against his knee. I felt my third shiver of the night, although this one caused my insides to feel both heated and lightened at the same time. I exhaled rapidly just as Ralph swiftly moved himself a few inches further from me as if my touch had burned him.

Although I thought that it was quite silly to feel this way, I felt somewhat hurt at his abrupt action. He also suddenly appeared to be extremely interested in the dark ocean, though I couldn't see his face. What a stupid game I had been playing, my mind mocked me.

I stood up from my spot. Most of the boys were too involved in their game of storytelling to notice me walking away from the fire. I walked close to the line of the trees, but never actually emerged in them. I only walked until I could no longer see the fire burning, until the light could no longer be distinguishable in the dark, diamond studded sky.

I began to slow at a leisurely pace until I came to a complete stop. In the darkness, I grabbed at a nearby tree and clung to it as I stared in awe at the sparkling brilliance of the night sky, unhindered by the light of civilization. My previously racing heart and erratic breath slowed to its normal pace. I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a smile of its own accord at the astounding beauty of nature before me. Just as I was about to continue on my little walk, I felt hands grab at my waist and pull me backwards into something strong and unyielding.

My heart quickly regained its previously racing pulse and by instinct, I filled my lungs with air to scream, but my mouth was strongly clamped by one of the hands that left my waist. The other hand crossed my stomach and locked me against them securely. My eyes widened and my hands struggled against the arms that bound me. I then heard a low moan against my hair. The person's face was now buried in my thick tresses, their nose going back and forth against my scalp.

"You have no idea how you excite me…" the boy murmured into the back of my neck where he now trailed his scratchy, chapped mouth. I whimpered with fear when I recognized the voice. It belonged to Jack.

He pushed me into the closest tree and presumed to push his entire body into my side. His hand slowly slid away from my quivering mouth to the bottom of my now ripped under-dress. With a labored breath, his rough hand slipped beneath the thin, white fabric just as I released a loud, unintelligible cry. Never before had I felt a foreign hand beneath my dress. His coarse, calloused hands scrapped against my soft skin as he roughly pushed to his destination of my inner thigh.

"P-please don't..." I spoke in a soft, pathetic voice. My voice betrayed how close I was to tears at how strange and unfamiliar this was. No boy that I've ever known has ever done something like this to me and it was entirely too uncomfortable for my liking. I squirmed more violently when I felt his hand brush across the hem of my underwear. This time I was successful in letting out a piercing scream while he was otherwise distracted.

I heard a sound of agitated frustration coming from Jack as he violently pushed me into the sandy ground. A sharp rock hit my back painfully as my sprawled legs struggled with the sudden weight of Jack as he followed suit and lowered his body weight over me. Both of his strong hands were holding down mine, which was the only thing that kept them from flailing. Jack swore something at me, though I couldn't hear it with the sound of my second scream coursing through my throat. Everything was moving slowly and making no sense to me. I was acting purely on instinct, like a frightened little shrew.

The sound was soon cut short, however, when Jack sealed his dry lips onto mine. My open screaming mouth allowed his tongue passage. Everything on my face was unpleasantly wet and I felt myself gag when he practically shoved his tongue down my throat. It was then that I bit down on his lower lip and tongue. I tried to bite hard, but felt that my energy was starting to drain with my own panic and previous struggle. If he was going to try and enjoy himself with me, then I would try to make it as painful as possible. The opposite reaction that I had expected occurred, however. Jack's eyes rolled back slightly with the oncoming of a moan as he pushed something hard onto my thigh. He's a bloody masochist!

My eyes screwed shut as I was about to just give up and allow myself to go limp with my lack of energy and will, but Jack's weight suddenly dissolved. I opened my eyes slowly and could once again see the night sky, although its beauty was now lost within the horror of the last few minutes. I felt something trickle down my chin as I lifted my head to the vision of Ralph roughly pulling Jack away from me. There was a light in the distance; a figure was standing far off carrying a small torch. The glint from the fire on the person's face told me that it was Piggy with his glasses.

I turned my attention back to Ralph and Jack just as Ralph's fist met with Jack's face. Jack staggered back into a tree, but I could see that his face held no remorse for what he had done. There was blood on his chin and lip. The teeth marks were the source of the broken skin. My own hand timidly touched my own chin where his blood had been smeared. Ralph's fist was now similarly painted with Jack's blood.

Jack's eyes glinted forebodingly at Ralph in the light of the torch that Piggy had brought closer to us. I could detect a similar carnal aura about his gaze towards Ralph that he also held for me, but it was instead filled with dark hatred.

"Don't. touch. her." Ralph emphasized each word in a low voice. I shivered at the quiet power in his voice and yet it sounded so much worse than if he had simply shouted it.

"Why not?!" Jack spat at him. "She belongs to us. We should do as we please to her." I had a feeling that he wouldn't have chosen the word us for his declaration. I felt my heart sink at the statement, leaving me with the heavy presence of fear. I sat up quickly and slid back with my palms, my whole body aching with the effort. I couldn't help but to further my distance from these boys. I began to feel that being aquianted with them in the first place was the worst mistake that I had ever made thus far.

Ralph's eyes didn't leave Jack's when I moved. "She's protected under the law just like the rest of us. She's a human being, not an object!"

I felt relief at his statement, but my body still quivered with dread.

Jack only laughed at Ralph's words, which caused Ralph to make another lunge at him. Jack, however, now fully recovered from the surprise discovery, quickly dodged him. Before Ralph could do anything else, Jack's form disappeared into the darkened creepers and we could hear his sprint into the jungle. Once his footsteps could no longer be heard, Ralph turned to face me, an apologetic and guilty expression upon his face. My body still felt weak and yet was frozen in place. I could feel my eyes soften at his appearance in a few moments. I then leaned slightly forward just as Ralph arrived to my side. I unknowingly cringed at his touch when he gently took my arm to help me to my feet. I felt fear stir within me behind his strong hand, but there was also that gentle hum that continued to play that strange pastime within the depths of my heated body.

A small, forced smile formed on my lips as a way of thanking him, though my eyes were lowered. He must have seen it, for he became a bit more bold and also took hold of my waist to secure me once I stood.

With Piggy leading the way with the torch, we started to make our way back to the shelters. I was glad that we were going to miss out on the rest of the boys at their cooking fire, for I did not want to come across Jack again. Ever again. I felt a shiver at the memory of how easily he had overpowered me and had me on the ground in no time. I then turned my attention to my strong companion that had still been holding me close as we walked.

A genuine smile graced the corner of my mouth this time as my shoulder brushed his. This time he didn't pull away, but instead leaned very slightly into my touch. His skin flushed and grew warm. My smile grew a little at this. If I was going to survive on this island, I needed to develop my own strategy to its deadly game.

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**A/N: **_Thanks for the reviews! They help me write faster. :)_


	5. A Lesson in Wanting

Chapter 5 – A Lesson in Wanting

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for the wait in the update. RL issues.. Thank you so much everyone for the lovely reviews! They really help me grow as a writer and help me gain confidence. (:

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In the following days, I woke up surprisingly refreshed considering the trauma that I had just experienced a few nights ago. Jack and his band of hunters had been avoiding the general camping area since the incident. I cautiously tried to look outside my shelter without attracting unwanted attention from any of the boys.

I leaned forward as my muscles felt the satisfying stretch of my current position. My eyes traveled the length of the beach and were relieved to see mostly little'uns playing along the shore. There was a modest fire started off to the side where I quickly detected Simon. His back was turned to me, but his black hair was probably one of the most recognizable hair colors aside from Jack's. My body visibly quivered at the thought of Jack, even at the mental mention of his name.

I noticed that there were no other big'uns currently around, so finally used my new found strength to pull myself upright from the shelter without damaging it. I didn't even bother to pull my shoes on, for the fine sand felt surprisingly soft and refreshing against my bare feet. With my eyes making sidelong glances, I quickly made my way to the fire.

Simon appeared to be contemplating something. My eyes sought his, but he continued to stare off into space, as if he were having some mental conversation with an invisible being. I could feel my eyes furrow in slight confusion as I took a seat close to his left, though not uncomfortably close. Simon appeared to not notice, lest he was purposely ignoring my presence. His cool, grey eyes simply looked on as peacefully as if he were sleeping with his lids open.

I sighed, wishing that he would acknowledge me. Instead of saying something first, I looked down to the medium-sized pile of fruit that was left from what I had gathered last night. Sleep refused to find me after the vile incident, so I managed to create a sizable collection of fruit over the last few days for those that wished to gorge on something different than that smoky, tasteless meat.

Taking a small handful of a couple of the nameless, bittersweet berries, I looked once again at Simon. "So..." I decidedly spoke after I swallowed a mouthful of the fruit. "...it's a lovely morning, is it not?" I felt embarrassed for asking such a stupid question, for I didn't really find the mornings on this island beautiful. It still held an aura of passion and danger aside from the fact that it held a certain form of beauty. Certainly not something that I was accustomed to.

Simon's grey eyes finally lost their focus on whatever he was thinking of and looked over at me as if he were seeing me for the first time. His peaceful expression that he once held turned to an expression that was difficult for me to detect. It was as if he suddenly regarded me with fear and caution, as if I were a harmless flower turning into some sort of monster.

His expression frightened me, causing me to look down at my attire. My arms were once again dirty despite the washing that I had previously done. My white under dress now appeared to be the strange color that white turned into when it had been permanently soiled. My cheeks flushed a little, wondering how my face appeared. I looked away from Simon just as I felt the sudden movement of sand to my side as someone suddenly sat next to me.

My heart raced, alarmed, but I willed it to calm when I saw the familiar, friendly face of Ralph. He had a particularly light smile for Simon, which Simon returned. Ralph than turned to me, giving me an even bigger smile.

"What are you smiling about?" I spoke with my own grin starting to form at the corners of my mouth. Feeling self-conscious I ate some more fruit. I caught Simon suddenly staring intently into the fire.

"I have a little something for you." Ralph spoke as he brought a small clothed package upon his folded legs. His expression turned a bit cocky. "And you better like it, as it took me all of yesterday to come up with this." His long fingers began to work upon the clumsy ties that had been hastily put together.

My anxious green eyes awaited the revealing of what he had intended on giving me and became nearly breathless with delight at what I saw laying within the confines of the relatively clean piece of cloth. I only saw a glimpse of the scaly color of the silver before I instantly knew that he had caught me fish. In my excitement, I brought my arms tightly around Ralph's frame and gave him a quick peck upon his cheek. I smirked at his blush and sudden silence at my gesture and took the fish from his lap.

"We'll need to cook these immediately." I spoke as I quickly retrieved some of the cooking sticks that were previously used to cook pig meat. I used the ones that had the least amount of visible, dried blood upon them.

It was tedious to cook the fish before they became too dry and burned, while also keeping in mind to not undercook them. I offered Simon one of the fish, which he accepted with a quiet grin. Perhaps he had forgiven me for whatever he was previously cautious about this morning.

We burned our fingers trying to eat the fish, seeing as we were impatient to eat something other than pig meat and fruit. The little'uns eventually made their way towards our fire, asking curiously what we were doing. Most weren't interested in the strange looking fish and decided to indulge themselves with the pile of fruit that I had previously collected. I, on the other hand, was in complete heaven.

Fish was one of my favorite meals back in England... and here I was enjoying some on this island of all places. Although there wasn't much meat on the five fish, we managed to somehow become satisfied with our morsel.

I sucked on some of my burned fingers, trying to rid the sting that still clung to my reddened skin. The sky had darkened to the same starry night that I remembered from the incident that had happened a few nights ago. At that thought, I began to wonder what had become of Jack and his hunters. I would have truly started to become suspicious had I not been so preoccupied with the little'uns all day.

We had spent the entire afternoon trying to correctly cook the fish while tending to the hunger of the little'uns as well. They were all now sleeping either under the protection of the trees or in the few shelters that they had managed to build for themselves.

The fire warmed our skin, allowing Simon and Ralph to fall into a deep sleep. Simon rolled over and had his back turned to us, though I could hear his quiet snore amidst the sudden silence of the island. Even the wind had died down, refusing to disturb the island's foliage. The only noise other than the occasional quiet snoring was the calm, constant tide. My own eyelids were beginning to grow heavy as I rolled over. I had always felt more comfortable sleeping on my side.

After moving over, my eyes caught sight of Ralph sleeping on his back close by. Had I not seen his closed lids and gentle snore, the tilt of his chin towards the sky would have deceived me into thinking that he was merely admiring the starry night. I smiled at how peaceful he seemed compared to the tenseness that he wore over his body like a safeguard during the day. As I scooted closer to him, I was surprised to see how much younger he appeared within his sleeping. I suppose that being the leader, or trying to be the leader, seemed to have added years to his young face.

Feeling a bit daring, I raised my hand cautiously and slowly stroked his cheek with the back of my hand. The skin there was surprisingly soft compared to the course feel of his hands. My own smile suddenly dissipated at the proximity in which I was within Ralph's space. Instead of moving back to my spot, however, I stayed there, almost frozen. My own eyes grew wide at the sudden sickening memory of Jack's wet mouth upon mine. I suddenly wondered if kisses were all as vile as that, seeing as it was the first that I've ever had... even if it was forced.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to rid the revulsion that had risen within my body. I moved closer to Ralph, feeling the length of his arm against me. When I opened my eyes, my face flushed at the sight of the blonde-haired boy even closer to me. My heart thudded loud within my ears, giving me the impression that the whole island could hear my divulging pulse.

Making up my mind, I brought my face close to his and softly brushed my lips against his. That slightest of touches felt scorching against my mouth, something that I had not ever experienced. I paused until I continued to hear his quiet snore. He made another small noise in his slumber, causing his lips to part slightly.

I bit my bottom lip, quite nervous at the sudden temptation. I slowly brought my mouth to his again, but this time took his top lip between mine. My pulse accelerated at the exhilaration of doing something so culturally forbidden. Yet everything that seemed to happen on this island didn't feel quite real to me either. It almost felt as if everything were one big game. My body pushed a little more against Ralph. Without even thinking, I kissed him deeper. Our mouths melded deeper together.

He slightly moved beneath me. Right before I was about to pull away for fear of Ralph waking up, his lips began to move against mine. My initial shock melted away into the heat of our mouth-to-mouth encounter. I was vaguely aware of my body now nearly on top of his as my hand came up to meet his cheek.

I was wary of pulling away, feeling that it would break the spell between us. I suddenly felt something warm and wet touch my bottom lip. Realizing it was his tongue, a feeling of surprise and slight fear rose within me. Despite my caution, I tentatively opened my mouth to him and was again surprised by the way our tongues met. It was almost like a dance, the way that our tongues touched. The way that our wet mouths slid gently against each other felt sinfully delicious, as if I were indulging myself with something deliciously hot and sweet.

A warm, almost uncomfortable pool of heat began to form within the deep, unknown recesses of my being. It had been slowly growing and now formed an uncomfortable tension. My frustration made itself known when I unconsciously slid myself down Ralph's torso. The friction of my body against his send an unknown, pleasurable shock up my spine, but a ferocious moan suddenly escaped his lips as if I had hurt him.

He pushed himself away from me. I just sat there in the sand, stunned, the electrifying heat still licking at my insides. My own eyes appraised Ralph with his messed hair, wild eyes, and tender lips. His eyes shifted a bit lower upon my body. I followed his gaze and blushed when I realized that my under-dress had ridden up quite a ways, revealing the entire length of my white thighs. I self-consciously pulled the fabric down and averted my gaze from Ralph.

"W-we shouldn't do that again." I heard the raspy, nervous voice of Ralph.

I turned my eyes in his direction, feeling my heart flutter. I unconsciously licked my lips at the memory. "Why not?" I finally spoke and was surprised to hear a small note of defiance within my tone.

He paused for a moment, his eyes trained upon my mouth before he diverted his attention somewhere else. "We're not ourselves... here." He sat up as his hand unconsciously touched his reddened mouth. A look of confusion and distance came into his eyes.

I felt a bit disappointed in his words, though a small, mischievous smile played with my mouth as a moved closer to him. "What does that matter? We still want to." My voice was playful and low as I tried to steal another kiss from him. Ralph, most likely startled by my action, quickly dodged the kiss, scrambling a little in the sand to gain some distance from me.

"Lydia!" He spoke in a hushed voice, still knowledgeable of the sleeping form of Simon across the fire.

I was a little hurt by his sudden avoidance of me, but also felt strangely empowered by the way that I appeared to hold a sort of dominance over him, judging by the look of fear that had crossed his face when I came too close. The small bit of amusement caused me to smile at him.

I stood and began to walk away, leaving a skittish and stunned Ralph still in the sand.

The jungle at night, in a twisted way, appeared to open its arms to me as I plunged into its darkness. After only a few moments, I found my way back to my secret pool that I had previously visited a few nights ago. A small clearing of the sky was visible, revealing the studded stars. A feeling of sorrow attempted to latch onto my heart, offering me the memory of my once innocent self before I had arrived on this island.

My father tried to reassure me that nothing would happen to me when he sent me to travel with the private school of boys that he had previously taught. The pilot was a close friend of his and promised that nothing would happen to me. Shaking it off, I wandered a little further from the pool and was surprised to find a series of rock formations. They were most likely the beginnings of Castle Rock, which was still a further bit down the island. A few of nature's crude work of rock appeared to be caves, though I was too wary to venture further.

Just as I was wondering whether or not I should return to the shelters, a small bit of color caught my attention along the side of one of the small caves. I curiously ambled forward and was surprised to see a small collection of blue, strangely shaped flowers growing along a rock crevice. The moonlight that had managed to escape through the canopy captured the color in a particularly haunting way.

I reached out my hand to touch the soft petal and was surprised to feel an unpleasant numbing sting coat my finger. Shocked, I quickly pulled my hand back, the small patch of my finger already growing red. I looked at the flower again with a new disgust at its effect. For such a beautiful flower, it certainly wasn't an innocent bloom.

I started to walk back towards the pool with one cautious glance back at the flower. After washing my finger in the cool water with some leaves, the tingling began to subside. _Perhaps it was the sap? _My mind pondered its properties as I looked back in the direction of the shelters. _No... Perhaps I should stay out here for the night. I don't feel like facing him again... at least for now._

I sighed as I looked back over to the strange cave-like formations. After a few minutes of looking through a couple, I began to create a makeshift bed with large leaves that I had found beneath a particularly bizarre-looking tree. Despite the discomfort of the rocks, my fatigue finally caught up with me, forcing my mind to surrender to sleep.

It was dark, yet surprisingly warm. In the dark, I saw the figure of a boy coming closer to me. I felt immobile and frozen to the spot, only watching the approaching individual with growing apprehension. When he came close enough, he roughly took my face between his hands and began to ravage my mouth with his. The newly discovered warmth that I discovered with this action not too long ago caused burning excitement to filter through my body. Instinctively, I eagerly began to move my lips against him, even forcefully taking his bottom lip between my teeth.

That heat returned to my inner core that had once been lit so fervently. It grew into a gentle hum that caused my entire body to grow soft and warm to the touch. I ran my fingers through his hair and roughly grabbed fistfuls as his lips began to do unknown, pleasurable things to my breasts. I threw my head back with a quiet moan as I pushed his head harder against my chest.

He ran his hands first up and then down my thighs, hooking his fingers beneath the hem and pushing my under-dress over my hips. Our breaths hitched, almost in synchronized harmony as he began to ground his hips into mine. I wasn't sure what was happening to me, but a knot began to grow tighter and tighter deep within after each satisfying bout of friction.

I breathed the first name and face that sprung to mind as a sharp, pleasurable clench made itself known within my entire body. "Ralph."

And with my speech, he raised his head. I was staring back into the familiar, icy, cruel gaze of Jack. His red mouth twisted into a horrible smirk just as the image faded into black and my entire vision melted.

I was once again on the cave floor of the island, panting. My cheeks were suddenly stained as bitter tears were released and my fists clenched until my nails created deep groves within my palms.


	6. Division

**Chapter 6- Division**

**A/N**: _Thanks for the quick reviews. :) I was truly touched by them. I'm now quite determined in finishing this story._

It was only a nightmare. It was only a nightmare...

That was all that went through my mind until dawn finally made its way to the horizon. Of course, since I was still in the cave, I couldn't see the sun right away, but I could tell by the way everything in the wood seemed to come alive. There was slight warmth in the air, even if it was dampened by the cave's envious touch. The night was over... for now. I shuttered, remembering the awful dream with those unpleasant touches from Jack. Of course, it didn't feel that way when I had believed him to be Ralph at first. It was all so confusing and new. The anger I felt after waking up on the cave floor washed over my pale frame as I unconsciously fisted my blonde hair. My hands were on each side of my head as my legs curled against my chest, leaning by the coolness of the rock wall.

The fury still burned within me, though it felt more like the slow burning of coals as opposed to the enormous and sudden flame of the signal fire that quickly died unless it was fed more dead brush or wood. That sort of anger was the kind that was usually reserved for Jack. He could be calm on the surface, but then something inside of him would suddenly snap out of nowhere, like a flame that had been held captive for too long and needed its damaging release. If I were to think truthfully, he certainly frightened me. Though, it was difficult to say if it was him or the island that held the darkest terror for me.

As soon as I could see the pale light of morning being filtered through the canopy, I attempted to sweep away my thoughts as I crawled out into the open. I came to resent the wild air of the jungle and severely missed the smog of London, if only for the more civilized memories that it held. With a sigh, I began to slowly make my way back towards the shelters. I spared hardly a glance at my reflection in my pool, no longer caring that my hair was a mess or that my skin was dirty. It would only become that way once again in a matter of minutes after wiping it away. There were more important things to worry about... such as how to get off this island and how to deal with Jack and his hunters, who were slowly adopting this place as their own.

By the time I had reached the beach, I was somewhat surprised to see only little'uns there with Piggy. It was easy to spot him with the way that the sun sometimes hit his round glasses. As my gaze scanned the beach, I also noted that some of the shelters had fallen from neglect. Most of the little'uns were playing in their own little groups either by the ocean or in the sand. It was strange to see this in comparison to how diligent they had been under Ralph's rule when I had been first dragged to the beach by Jack and his little cult followers.

I made my way over to Piggy. He stood close to one of the damaged shelters, trying to revive it by himself while a few little'uns carelessly ran passed playing some sort of game. As I walked closer to him, my foot accidently kicked something long and wooden that was half buried within the sand. Curious, I pulled it out, revealing that it was one of the discarded spears used to hunt the pigs. Somewhat disgusted at my find, I walked over to the nearest, erect shelter and discarded it somewhere behind the mass. After covering it with a thin layer of sand, I went back to where Piggy was trying to busy himself.

"Um..." I spoke quietly, not wanting to startle him. "Where is—everyone else?" I generalized my question, not wanting to exclude certain individuals whose location held the most interest for me.

Piggy looked up at me, though his eyes appeared lost for a moment, as if wondering who had just spoken. "Ahh... they all went to hunt for this so called 'beast'... Wait, weren't you here last night?" He asked the last question almost accusingly, as if I were asking him an obvious question just to make fun of him.

"Well, not _all_ of last night." I spoke with little patience, feeling my cheeks growing warm at the memory of my mouth on Ralph's.

Piggy looked at me tentatively before speaking again. He dragged some branches over to the shelter as he heavily sighed. "Samneric came down that mountain late last night all scared 'cause they believed that they saw some kind of monster up there. Now... if you ask me, I think it's a bunch of nonsense. They were probably just having a nightmare."

I brought my arms close to my chest, thinking of my own horrid dream from the night before. "Lots of us have been having nightmares lately..."

I knew that of all the little'uns that had been plagued by dreams of some sort of beast prowling on the island, looking to devour them all. Never would I have thought that the big'uns would actually be serious in searching the island for something that seemed to have sprung from the little'uns imaginary night terrors. Ralph of all the boys seemed the least likely (aside from Piggy, of course) to actually be willing to partake in searching for something that sounded so ridiculous.

My thoughts were interrupted when Piggy suddenly tripped over one of the branches that he had previously laid out, causing him to tumble into the sand, dropping the other branches that were tucked beneath his arm. The sight caused me to giggle, though I instantly felt guilty for it when Piggy shot me a dejected look.

"Ah—I'm sorry, Piggy." The apology tumbled from my lips as he stooped down to pick up the branches that he was carrying. "Do you need some help with these shelters?"

He didn't respond as he clumsily picked himself and quickly brushed the sand from his dirty clothes. He refused to meet my eyes, though answered my question with the tiniest of nods. For the next couple of hours, we managed to rebuild a couple of the fallen shelters. One of them was completely demolished by a little'un that had accidently bumped it while playing tag with his friends. Piggy was surprisingly calm when this happened and didn't even attempt to yell at the little'un for being careless.

We managed to collect some firewood and were actually quite proud for the amount of work that we accomplished for only two people. It was surprising and a little sad that so many of the boys were beginning to become lazy and uncaring about doing such work.

The sun was just starting to set for the day when Simon arrived to the beach. He was alone.

He told us that Ralph, Jack, and the others wouldn't be back until late that night. I could tell by the way that he spoke, softly and reluctantly, that he was worried. He had always appeared to be rather peculiar and... different from the other choir boys. Almost as he was on an entirely different mental playing field than the rest of us. He briefly recounted how Jack suggested that they hunt for boar while exploring the island for the monster, which was the reason for their delay. The way he spoke of their hunt, caused my stomach to turn slightly at the remembered blood and smell of the horrendous meat that they had brought to the beach before.

No more was said between the three of us while we finished building the small fire. Ever since Samneric's misadventure on the mountain with their claim of a monster, they hadn't been able to keep up the mountain signal fire. We didn't really have anything to cook over the fire, so we ate fruit, the common staple of the little'uns. We were silent as we ate slowly. The feeling of dread and impatience hung thick in the air as the sun had completed its journey in the sky and darkness had taken its hold over the world once again.

I excused myself from the fire in order to see to it that the little'uns were asleep in the freshly made shelters that Piggy and I had worked so hard on throughout the day. Perhaps I should have forced some of them to help, but I had a feeling that their little hands wouldn't be of much help in the first place. Feeling nostalgic for my own mother, I "tucked" several of them in their makeshift beds of various forest leaves and vegetation within their shelters. One of them clung to my arm, afraid of seeing this so-called beast within his dreams once again. I sat with him, stroking his light brown locks until sleep had finally claimed him. His even breathing filled the air just as I brought myself back to the fire alongside Simon and Piggy. They were both ghostly silent, though Simon was poking the fire with his usual thoughtful expression. The darkness was growing more and more thick and heavy the later it got and yet we shared the unspoken refusal for sleep until the others had returned.

However, sleep was not so merciful in our decision. One by one, we began to rest our heads and eyelids. Our bodies were graciously sprawled about the grainy bed of sand that surrounded our little fire. It seemed that I had closed my heavy eyelids for only a moment before I was pulled into the vicarious arms of a dream-filled sleep.

My dream included the faces of Ralph and Jack as they trudged through the jungle at night, their faces holding determination, but also the light of some form of rivalry. A dark shape loomed ahead of them. I couldn't tell what it was, seeing as it was in the shadows, but it's large form looked as if it were swaying back and forth in the tree branches... waiting... watching. Before I could see more, I heard the sound of panicked screams and cries fill the air. The shadows engulfed these visions just as the noises began to waver and was soon replaced with a hurried scuffle and earthy disturbance.

It was when the little'uns began to cry and several shouts erupted from the big'uns that I realized that I was being suddenly woken back into the horrible reality of the island. Our fire was only a cold pile of ash and the eerily pale light of early morning made some shapes on the beach visible. I was wide awake when I heard Piggy's usual angry babble at something or someone in the distance and the hastily, yet clumsily blow of the conch shell. I could tell by the erratic way in which it was blown, that the holder was not Ralph.

I pulled myself up and out of my sleeping position, noticing that there were only indents within the sand where Piggy and Simon had slept close to the ashes. The sky was half overcast, creating a rather gloomy outlook over the entire island. The meeting was called a little further down the beach where all the boys were quickly heading, most likely hopeful that the hunters and their chief had come back from their long hunt for the beast.

I was less eager in my small trek to the location, knowing that Jack and his hunters were there alongside Ralph. I spotted Simon in the midst of the shadows of the creepers. I followed behind him, not wishing to be central to the meeting that was being held by the boys. Jack and Ralph were in the middle of the platform with Piggy, who was rubbing one of the circles of his glasses on his stained shirt. Piggy had been looking at Ralph as if he had just made a mistake of some sort, perhaps with his words, while Jack stood a bit away from the others, his face red and his eyes dangerously livid while he grasped the conch shell.

Ralph frowned bitterly as he snatched the conch back from Jack. "This meeting..." He started to speak before he was instantly cut off by Jack.

"I called it!"

"If you hadn't called it, I would have. You just blew the conch."

Jack raised his eyebrows at Ralph, his even voice effectively hiding the strong emotion that was laced within his glare. "Well, isn't blowing the conch calling it?" The boys were watching the exchange with a great level of discomfort. Some of the little'uns shuffled their feet, while the big'uns simply stared, unsure of how they were supposed to react.

"Oh—take it! Go on—talk!" Ralph nearly exploded in his own frustration as he shoved the conch back into Jack's arms. He took a few steps back and folded his tanned arms, waiting.

Wasting no time, Jack immediately spoke. "_I_ have called a meeting to tell you all a number of things. Firstly, we have seen the beast." I couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow at this declaration. It was difficult to tell if he was speaking seriously on his behalf or if he was simply playing on the fear that the majority of the boys felt towards this dark creature. Jack explained further on how they crept up on the beast in the middle of the night and came back down the mountainside when they felt that they had gotten too close to its imposing shape. The boys all started to interject their own theories about the beast all at once, creating a great murmur amongst the listeners.

"Quiet!" Jack shouted above their voices. "Secondly, the beast is still up there, whatever it is, and we couldn't kill it. And lastly, Ralph says that my hunters are no good."

There it was. That last statement is what truly caused the flush of anger to revel in his face, for his voice increased in volume and determination upon reaffirming it. It was almost as clear as the redness of his hair.

"I never said that!" Ralph attempted to interject, though stopped when Jack raised the conch higher in the air.

"I've got the conch!" Jack bellowed before turning to eye his hunters amongst the crowd. "And that's not all. Ralph here thinks that you're all cowards. Running away from the beast." There was an increasing amount of unyielding silence from the crowd. I, like the surrounding boys, wouldn't dare say a word. There was too much being thrown into the air to truly comprehend the underlying issues between the two figures on the platform that now glared at each other. Jack walked closer to Ralph so that they were now eye to eye, almost as if the world was dissolving around them and they could only see each other. As if the other was all that mattered in that moment.

"He's like Piggy. He says things like Piggy. Therefore, he isn't a proper leader." Jack spoke as if Ralph had just downgraded into a subspecies of human. I cast a side long glance at Piggy, though he was as still as the rest of us. If he was insulted, his face didn't show it.

"_He's_ the coward." Jack spoke in a low tone, almost too softly for my ears. "Me and Roger went ahead while he stayed behind."

"I went!"

"After we did."

"I went on and then ran away. As did you." Ralph's face hardened.

"Then call me a coward." Jack spoke as he got even closer to Ralph, their faces almost breathing down the other's neck. It was a challenge. Ralph didn't move. He didn't speak. A nearly full minute passed of the tortured stillness before one of them finally stirred.

With a smirk and a soft laugh, Jack backed off from the blonde boy and turned to look into the faces of the hunters. "He's not a hunter. He never got us meat. We don't even know anything about him! He's just been giving us orders from the start and expects us to obey them. All this talk—"

Ralph interjected, this time successfully silencing him for a moment. "All this talk? _Who_ called this meeting?" Again, that flush returned to Jack's face as he turned to Ralph, scowling at him through his furrowed brows.

"Fine! Who thinks that Ralph should no longer be chief?" He raised his hand over his head, looking expectedly at the still crowd. The boys remained silent as did I. No one even dared to move a muscle. The waves crashed into the shore in the background. Repeatedly. Jack finally spoke his question again, asking for a show of hands to remove Ralph from leadership, though the unmoving silence amongst the boys retained its stillness. I noticed that Jack's confidence began to shrink from the lack of enthusiastic followers through the way that the anger began to leave his cheeks, though was replaced with a new coloring of embarrassment. It was when he somehow managed to find me in the crowd that some of the impassioned resentment began to settle once more within his gaze.

He set the conch down on the grass before he spoke again. "I'm not going to be playing anymore. Not with you." Everyone began to look at various spots on the ground as if something extremely interesting were occurring there. Anywhere but at Jack or Ralph. There was an awkward pause before Jack spoke again, his voice quivering with rage.

"I'm not going to be a part of Ralph's lot. He can catch his own pigs. I'm leaving- and anyone that wants to hunt whenever they want can come with." And with that, Jack leaped down from the platform and ran along the beach. It may have been my imagination, but I thought that I saw the glint of tears running down the corner of each of his eyes before he was fully emerged within the creepers. Ralph attempted to call Jack back to the group, but he didn't receive a response. There was a great pause with absolutely nothing filling its gap for what seemed the longest time.

"Well, we're better off without Jack." Piggy finally broke the silence, though his speech seemed to be mostly directed at Ralph rather than the boys. He polished his glasses once again as I slowly moved a bit closer to the platform. His voice was discreet, though I could tell that there was hidden joy within his statement, by the way that the corners of his mouth twitched, as if he might soon break into a relieved grin. Ralph peered suddenly at Piggy as if he wasn't sure if he wanted to hit him or to ignore him.

"He'll be back." Ralph spoke at no one in particular with such resolution that his tone was almost bitter.

Simon suddenly walked onto the platforms from the shadows of the palms that he had previously stood under and took the conch from Piggy. Piggy was so shocked at seeing Simon take any sort of initiative in the first place; he just stood there, looking at him blankly. Ralph, who had sat down on a log, looked at Simon before asking, "What do you want this time, Simon?" The question was more of a jeer and the sound of snickers made its way through the small crowd of boys. Simon's face paled slightly and he attempted to clear his throat. I felt pity for the suddenly timid looking Simon, as most girls would for the more timid individuals within a group of boys. I glared at those nearest to me that were laughing. Boys could be so immature with each other at times; I mentally scoffed, conveniently forgetting that girls had the capacity to act even worse in some aspects.

"I-I just th-thought that we should do something..." Simon spoke, though his voice was losing its determination at the sudden pressure that he had felt from holding the conch in front of the gathering. He suddenly locked eyes with mine. I gave him a sympathetic look, which hopefully urged him forward. He licked his lips before he was able to find his voice again. "I think we should go to the mountaintop."

There was a fearful whispering amongst the boys as Piggy spoke again, his eyes looking rather confused. "Why would we bother with that if Ralph and the others could do nothing about it?" Piggy took back the conch, and went on to explain how they should keep the fire going on the beach instead of the mountaintop, completely forgetting Simon's seemingly absurd idea.

I vaguely listened to them discuss it, for I was watching Simon leaving the group, looking as apprehensive as ever, towards the fruit trees. Part of me wanted to follow him, but I knew that he was a difficult individual to talk to, seeing as he either wouldn't respond in a way that you would expect him to or wouldn't even really talk in the first place.

It was the last that I saw of him before he had completely disappeared into the creepers, almost as if the island greedily pulled his small frame right into its dark grasp. I shivered.

I turned back, feeling a small bit of dread for something that I couldn't quite placed. Perhaps it was simply because of the whole situation that just took place with Jack leaving, but the more I looked around the beach, the more I discovered that the hunters were missing as well as several of the big'uns. Feeling confused and a little worried, I raced back to the fireplace where Ralph and Piggy had just finished putting together a new fire. Samneric were gathering more wood in the distance, but other than that... it seems that we were the only ones left aside from the little'uns.

"Forget them." Piggy spoke harshly to the air. Ralph looked particularly gloomy. So sad, in fact, all I wanted to do in that moment was to offer some kind of comfort.

"Some of the boys are missing..." I spoke when I had arrived. Piggy looked up at me from where he sat. "I expect they're gone. I expect they won't play either. I saw them stealing away while we were collecting wood. They left the same way as he did."

I didn't need to ask who _he_ was.

Ralph was drawing little circles in the sand with a fragment of the wood they collected. He barely even looked up or even moved from where he was sitting in the sand. I moved closer to him and sat down right next to his strong form, though he appeared hunched and almost weakened with the defeat of the divide amongst the group. We had him, Samneric, Simon, and myself. We were the only older kids left under Ralph's leadership...

"We'll keep the fire going. No matter what." I spoke almost defiantly, looking towards the seemingly endless ocean. We were the party that wanted to be rescued and to not die on this god-forsaken island. It seems that Jack and his tribe suddenly weren't so keen on the idea and cared more about their little game. Ralph finally looked at me just when the sudden rumble of distant thunder echoed in the air. Some of the little'uns whimpered quietly. My skin warmed over at the feel of his eyes upon me, even if he didn't seem to return the affections that I displayed for him the night before. I still wanted them. It was him that caused the dark corners of my mind to come alive. So much so, that it actually started to terrify me. I should be focused on rescue and the signal fire just as the boys should be focusing on rescuew instead of the enticement of the savagery that Jack so heartily began to embrace.

My hand boldly went over his in the sand, feeling the warmth and tingle of his skin beneath mine. This time, he didn't flinch or pull away. His eyes lowered suddenly from my face to the outline of my throat and shoulder, giving me the most wonderful thrill within the pit of my stomach that I had ever felt from a simple glance. Just as I was going to look away from him, the forest nearest to us suddenly burst into an uproar.

Terrifying figures with faces of white, red, and green. The little'uns ran screaming as did Piggy with a protective arm around the conch shell. Two of the savages ran towards me and Ralph by the fire. Just as we scrambled to our feet to try to defend ourselves, the two simply grabbed burned sticks out of our fire and ran straight back into the creepers.

We were still stunned by what had just happened and didn't move as three of the remaining savages stood in a line, facing us. I could tell that tallest one in the middle was Jack, despite the fact that he was stark naked aside from the paint and a belt. I felt my face turn beet red. Jack raised his spear and began to shout.

"Tonight we are holding a feast! Me and my hunters are living along the beach by a flat rock where we hunt, feast, and have fun. If you would like to join my tribe, then come tonight. Perhaps I'll let you join. Perhaps not." He released a terrible smirk as he began to look at each individual with careful consideration and self-assurance. Behind the paint, he could be who he wanted to be without fear of judgment. He barely even glanced at Piggy who stood on the platform with the white conch still being held protectively within his hands. Samneric were within the shade of the palms. And lastly, he turned his gaze upon Ralph and I who were still in our startled positions by the fire. His eyes darkened into something violently passionate as his eyes glazed over our forms, though I couldn't say what it was exactly. Whatever it was, it caused my heart to falter slightly and my skin to grow cold.

"You are all welcome to my feast and may come and eat if you'd like." Just as he spoke, the thunder boomed again, though it was much louder. All of us, even the savages, were startled by the noise, but Jack quickly recovered and began to wait for something. He looked angrily at the two standing next to him and whispered something urgently to them. The two savages murmured, looking a bit unsure. "Go on!" Jack's harsh whisper was made audible for our ears.

The two savages looked at each other before finally raising their staffs and speaking in unison. "The Chief has spoken."

With that, they turned and walked down the beach, leaving the rest of us on the beach stunned into silence and immobility.

**:**


	7. The Slaughter of Innocence

**Chapter 7 – The Slaughter of Innocence**

**A/N:** This chapter contains M-rated material. Just a quick reminder for readers that may not be comfortable with reading that sort of thing. Sooo don't say I didn't warn you— as if the rating on the story wasn't warning enough, lol. This is my first time writing a lemon, which is why I was a little hesitant about putting it up at first, so tell me how it is. Thanks to my reviewers! You are all so awesome!

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Ralph was the first among us to stir after the savages had left.

Upon standing, Samneric drew closer to the fire, speaking in daunted whispers over what they had just seen and heard. "—now what?" I overheard the end of what Sam had said before they had completely quieted their voices in the presence of their fair-haired leader.

"That was Jack, Maurice, and Robert." Ralph spoke with a dull, nearly lifeless voice, as he stood a bit straighter, continually staring at the spot where the savages had vanished. I was not too familiar with the last two names that Ralph had mentioned, but I was more than aware of who the middle savage was, even with all of the dried face paint caked upon his face. If I was wary of Jack before he adopted this new mask to hide behind, then I was absolutely terrified of this slightly altered individual that knew no limits as to what he wanted and how he far he was going to go in order to acquire them. The back of my scalp prickled.

Piggy stumbled from the platform with the conch. His hands shook slightly as he held it out to Ralph.

"I was afraid that they were going to go after it for some reason." Piggy's voice was giving away the fear that he must have felt in the presence of our most recent visitors. My gaze slipped to the white shell now in Ralph's tanned hands with a soft brush of familiar affection. Even some of the little'uns appeared to cease their whimpers over the sight of their symbol of authority and began to gather around us. It alarmed me that our group was so much smaller than it had been before, but I tried to focus more on Ralph as he attempted to get his voice working again.

"Um—ah... they came for our fire. They're having their fun." He stated somewhat lamely. His gaze was unfocused, as if he were trying to grasp at something in his mind.

"And—we need..." He swore under his breath, while bringing his hand up to push the hair out of his eyes. His eyes were boring into the shell as if it were going to make him remember what he was supposed to say. He briefly looked at Piggy before he finally spoke again.

"Oh yes! The fire! We need to keep the fire going. It's the most important thing on this island, because..." He stopped for a moment until Piggy urged him further, mouthing words.

"Yes, because we need to be rescued." He finished, his cheeks flushing slightly, knowing that it was probably the worst speech that he had delivered in that very spot of the island.

I cleared my throat faintly as I held my hands out for the conch. I spoke the instant the tips of my fingers came into contact with the smooth, almost slippery surface of the conch.

"It will take more people to keep this fire going..." I hated to be the downer in the group, but I felt that there were far too few of us to properly keep a constant signal fire going for the entirety of the day and night. I bit my inner cheek, instantly regretting my words' effect on the boys' faces. Most looked absolutely heartbroken at the mention of the others' abandonment of the group's common goal.

Ralph stood still.

I quickly shoved the shell at one of the other boys that held his dirty hands out.

"Lydia's right. We need more people. Perhaps we should go to this feast tonight and tell them that keeping the fire's hard on us all... and it sounds like it _could_ be some fun." The boy shuffled a bit in the sand.

"Meat sounds good. We're hungry..." Either Sam or Eric spoke up from behind me, though I couldn't see which one.

My own stomach pained at the thought of being full, but I wish it would be for something other than pig meat. It reminded me too much of Jack and his lackey, Roger. I'd like to think that I wouldn't go to the feast just because I was hungry, but hunger was a legitimate drive for a human being. Being hungry enough over a long period of time definitely wore on a person's reasoning. I was sure that the majority of us had never experienced real hunger before coming to this island. Even though none of us had come from wealthy families, from what I've gathered so far amongst our numbers, most of us were also far from being underprivileged in the society that waited outside this small island.

"We could catch our own meat." Ralph suggested, feeling the struggle of the decision with many of us. Samneric looked at Ralph.

"We won't go into the jungle. Because... well, _he_ goes in there." One of the twins stumbled a bit through their words, not looking at anyone or anything in particular.

Ralph didn't seem to have anything to say to that and Piggy simply stared into the sand, offering none of his usually intelligent insight.

For the next couple of hours, we parted amongst the beach, doing what we pleased… waiting for the inevitable.

I saw Samneric and the little'uns slowly and silently slipping away from us... towards the other end of the beach where Jack and his hunters were to be found. I sighed, allowing my legs to dangle in the side of the pool that was near the platform. Ralph was in the water, trying to rid himself of some of the island's grime. His shorts lay on the edge of the pool, though he kept his undergarments on for my sake. Not that I would have truly minded, I laughed a little uneasily at my mental musings. Surely, that thought wouldn't have occurred to me had I not been stranded for so long. The peculiarity of the island was certainly starting to rub off on me, or so I convinced myself.

The sticky wetness in the island's atmosphere was extremely uncomfortable, considering that the stifling heat accompanied it. The pool's water was warmer still, almost like a real bath. Ralph came up from the surface and shot a jet of water at Piggy, who was also standing close to the pool.

"Stop it! Mind my specs." Piggy glowered at him. It was actually funny, considering that Piggy would have normally just meekly accepted his teasing up until now.

Ralph laughed at him until I kicked him in the side. Not too hard, but it was enough. He suddenly turned his teasing gaze towards me while Piggy laid himself down on the sand, grumbling to himself whilst looking up at the clouds that threatened rain.

Ralph grabbed a hold of my leg over the edge of the pool that I had previously kicked him with.

"I wouldn't do that. Unless you don't mind being pulled into the water with me." His tone was casual, but his eyes betrayed his mischievous intent.

"Oh no you don't!" I laughed, trying to pull myself closer to the edge of the pool, my hands digging into the ground behind me for anchor. His grip on my leg suddenly changed, however, when his grabbing hold turned into something a bit softer. One of his hands crept just a little bit higher up my calf to the back of my knee, as his fingers gently explored the skin there. My skin began to heat up, when I realized that he must have never touched a girl in that way before. But just as quickly as the distraction was wrought, it was instantly broken when he suddenly released my leg from his grasp entirely. The playfulness in his eyes was almost exclusively replaced by something else. Something far more sinister that caused my blood to boil and prickle at my skin.

I swiftly brought my legs out from the water as Ralph also began to pull himself out of the pool, finally finished with his crude washing. He wouldn't meet my gaze, instead choosing to stare at the ocean; even as my eyes began to greedily drink in the sight of the water running down his nearly exposed flesh, flowing through each indent and line of what little muscle he had. Something else that I tried not to look at was how his drenched under garments clung to him like a second skin. When the sight became too much for me, I turned my guilty, hot face away from him and focused on one of the twisted trees in the jungle while he pulled on his shorts with difficulty over his sopping wet skin.

"It looks like it's going to rain like it did the day we crashed." Piggy's voice came from where he lay in the sand. I looked up to the darkening clouds and could smell the heavy dampness in the air.

"Perhaps we should go." Piggy spoke again after getting up from his spot. Ralph looked at him, though remained quiet for a long moment before responding.

"Perhaps... just to make sure..."

"...that nothing happens." Piggy finished Ralph's spoken thought. His statement came out more as an inquiry than a suggestion to my ears.

"Are you two crazy?" I blurted out, my own heart racing slightly even at the thought of being near Jack's tribe. Neither of them would meet my frenzied gaze. Only the rumbling of the clouds answered me. I peered over at Ralph, strongly wishing that he at least wouldn't go.

"Look around us, Lydia." Ralph spoke quietly, yet there was a definite ring of seriousness to his tone. "You were the one that said we needed more people to keep the fire going."

I didn't need to look around to know that we were alone. Never before had I felt such solitude, even with two of the boys at my side. I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing seemed to make its way out. Ralph _could_ talk some sense into the boys that had left to join Jack's lot. Perhaps. But perhaps he was really only walking into a vile trap. All for the promise of meat and fun.

"I'll have no part of it." I spoke looking directly at the both of them in turn. They didn't try to talk me out of my resolution, though Ralph managed to look a bit worried at the prospect of leaving me alone, even if it was in the shelters. It wasn't difficult to guess the cause of his suddenly guarded expression.

Piggy already began to walk towards Jack's side of the beach with the flat rock while Ralph lingered just a bit longer. I looked at his mop of sandy blonde hair as he peered down at his feet, only a short distance from me.

"Are you sure you won't come? I'll make certain that nothing happens to you this time." Ralph's attempt at persuasion sounded a bit to me more like he was trying to convince himself that he was making the right decision. I smiled a little.

"Even you can't promise me that, Ralph." My tone had a light bantering quality to it, but I truly believed in what I said. The savagery on the island seemed to choose its victims at random with no intention of letting them go. As much as I liked Ralph up till this point, I knew that I also didn't trust him entirely to believe in his promises. It wasn't that he wasn't being sincere within his words; it was that he seemed altogether too unaware of how frightening and savage the island's effect was on us all. A small, wicked part of me (no matter how much that I wanted to deny it) wanted to taint him of this naivety, to share with him some of the dark feelings within me that have budded towards him since our meeting.

Though my body had been feeling more like a grown-up's lately, my mind still teetered between the thoughts of a child and those of a grown-up. It was all so confusing and muddled, especially when there _were_ no real grown-ups on the island. Little did I know, the eldest of the group of big'uns on the island were also unconsciously facing these challenges and unexpected changes within their bodies and thoughts without really knowing how to handle them.

This time, Ralph looked up from the ground and locked eyes with me. My smile faltered a little at the full view of his dark stare, feeling the strange flutters beneath my skin.

"Is there anything that can convince you to come with me?" Ralph offered a slightly strained smile back. I laughed unenthusiastically, though I could feel the beginnings of a mischievous grin taking over my mouth as I spoke the first thing that popped into my head.

"Kiss me, then I'll consider." I instantly regretted speaking before thinking, even if it was in jest, for Ralph's face morphed quickly into an expression of seriousness as he continued to look at me.

Before I gathered enough decency to look properly embarrassed at my outburst, he leaned forward to place a hand upon my right cheek. With a breath caught in my throat and my skin burning under his touch, he slowly dragged his thumb over my bottom lip, which parted slightly under his torturously searing stroke. The quick movement of my eyes told me that he was watching my reaction. I was sure that he could feel the way that my skin burned beneath his and even hear the way that my heart seemed to pound loudly in my ears. He stood that way for a moment as I tried not to squirm impatiently beneath his scrutiny. Sometimes I felt that he was intentionally being cruel with me as he was at times with Piggy and Simon through his petty jeers.

He finally leaned his face forward and I felt him lightly press his mouth to my left cheek. Disappointment flooded into my being as I felt him smile against my skin. My eyes remained forward as his warm breath cascaded down the side of my throat.

"You didn't say where."

"Ugh." I pushed him away from me, suddenly feeling stupid and embarrassed, viciously biting my tongue to keep from calling him an awful name.

Ralph looked a little bit stunned.

"What did I do?" He spoke as if he sincerely sounded confused. However, I only reflected further irritation at him.

"Nevermind. Just go. Piggy's probably waiting for you." I turned around, refusing to look back to see if he had moved as I made my way back towards the fruit trees, alongside the creepers. When I was close enough, I emerged within the jungle, much like Simon had before me.

…

Part of me wanted to track down Simon to see where he had gone to, while the other half of me just wanted to be alone for the moment. I wandered around for what seemed like an hour amongst the trees. It was dark, considering that the thick canopy managed to block out the majority of the sparse light from the half-overcast moon and stars as the sun set. My thoughts leaned towards going back to my small cave, which lie hidden close to Castle Rock. I could tell that I was close to the cliff side and was about to leave until I heard the unmistakable disturbance of someone attempting to race through the foliage of the wood. As I turned my gaze in the direction of the commotion, I caught the sight of someone making their way towards the beach, though who, I could not tell, but it was definitely one of the boys.

I attempted to follow him, though my limbs got caught by various branches and vegetation in the darkness, which slowed me down a great deal. The sky rumbled. By the time I followed him for a good five minutes, I noticed a small point of bright light that managed to pierce its way through the darkness of the jungle. It must be the campfire, I mentally noted, just as the sky cracked in half and rain suddenly pounded mercilessly around me. I gasped at the sudden downpour, but managed to continue on my way towards the bright light. I was absolutely drenched in less than half a minute, even beneath the protection of the canopy.

The heaviness within the air became instantly unbearable to my lungs the moment I heard abrupt, piercing screams of agony strain through the troubled air. I froze with my arm still tangled in some undergrowth. It was from up ahead, but my entire being remained motionless at the terrible sound as it repeated over and over in the thick air. I could vaguely hear some form of chanting, tearing, and beating from up ahead as well, though those sounds dimmed in comparison to the previous howl. My breathing became shallow as I hurriedly ripped my arm from the forest's tangle and hugged my frame against the nearest tree in a poor attempt to protect myself from the rain and to drown out the terrifying noises. It went on for another minute until the small point of light ahead of me went out completely and I heard a multitude of screams and shouts from boys up ahead as something seemed to have crashed onto the shore. It was an eerie chorus for my ears in the sudden inky blackness of the island's night without the artificial light of the fire and the absence of the stars and moon behind a thick blanket of overcast as the island began to moan and fume.

My eyes focused the best that they could in this newfound darkness and could make out the motion of various shapes running past me, trying to scramble and run as fast as they could from the beach. The wind swished violently past my ears both from the storm and from a couple of running boys that nearly collided into me. What in the bloody hell was going on?

I waited for a moment longer and noticed that one of them stopped at the tree that I was currently against, his hand clutched at the bark as his shoulders shook with a horrible choking sound that ripped through his throat. His head was bowed against the giant trunk of the tree. I stared, dumbfounded, for awhile until sudden realization hit me.

He was sobbing. It was a violent cry that could only be remedied by allowing it to pass.

I waited.

When its motions seemed to slow, I realized that there was something about his figure, even in the darkness that was familiar.

"Ralph?" I inquired loudly over the storm's ferocious snarling.

I detected vague movement from the black shape against the tree. It was only when lightning flashed that I got a brief look at his face. His blonde hair was plastered against his forehead. His whole frame was soaked with water running in heavy rivulets down the contours of his body. Even his shorts hung heavy and limp over his hips. His entire body was shaking, though I doubted that it was from being cold.

Without further thought, I grabbed at his arm closest to me and pulled him close.

"Come," was all I said before forcefully pulling him along with me as I began to trudge further into the jungle. The darkness was so oppressing, I could barely make out where I even was. It was only when I splashed, now knee deep due to the rain, into my hidden pool that I realized that we were close to the cave that I had discovered awhile ago. Still gripping tightly onto his arm, Ralph allowed me to drag him into the cave like a lost puppy after I briefly felt around for the entrance.

When we emerged within the earth's cavity, my hand slid free from Ralph's arm as I gratefully laid myself down on the dried leaves and cool stones of the cave, catching my breath and quickened pulse. The lightning and thunder really began to start up after a few seconds of our arrival, which would occasionally light up our dry, little nook. In the flicker of the lightning, I noticed Ralph was leaning against the far end of the cave, his eyes looking forward, hauntingly empty and still. He slid to the ground still clinging to the side of the wall.

Feeling a bit worried for him, I scrambled clumsily on the cave floor towards the back. I sat myself in front of him so that we were both at eye level with each other. Or so I guessed... as it was too dark to really tell.

"Wha-what happened back there?" I managed to say between the clashing of thunder that seemed to rattle the very ground.

Instead of facing me, he dropped his gaze to the floor. I couldn't tell in the shadows, but I could almost feel the hopelessness and grief radiating from his body. I shivered despite the humid warmth of the air. The pounding sheets of rain outside thickened the water vapor in the atmosphere, causing my very clothes, no matter how thin they were, to feel extremely heavy and uncomfortable against my hot, wet skin.

"W-what happened out there on the beach? W-w-was it s-something Jack did?" I didn't realize that my voice was escalating in volume until I finished the question that had been burning within my mind since seeing him weep against the tree, something that was awfully unlike Ralph, our natural leader since the crash.

He didn't move. He didn't speak.

"Ralph, will you at least say _something_ to me?" I leaned closer to him, though received no response. Agitated by the whole situation and the uncomfortable weather, I stood up abruptly and pulled my wet under-dress away from my body. All I really wanted was to feel dry. I was sick of this island's ability to torment us with its constant hot humidity. The longer the silence prevailed between us, the angrier I became. My sodden hair created trickling trails of water down my back.

Impulsively, I finally pulled my under-dress up and over my head. I noisily plopped the wet mass of fabric on the cave floor, leaving me in my underwear and bra, which were still wet, but it was much more bearable. My exposed skin responded well to the riddance of the annoying wet cloth and almost breathed a sigh of relief against the open air.

"I hope you don't mind." I spoke offhandedly, though one could still detect the note of bitter irritation in my tone. I actually hoped that he would mind, if only it would create any sort of reaction out of him. This new statue Ralph greatly irritated me, much more than I thought it would. Either way, it was dark enough, so I knew he couldn't see me clearly. I sighed as I seated myself once again on the cave floor, still beside him, but further away than before.

"Honestly, is it so much that I want to know what's going on in that big head of yours? All you boys are the same. Sometimes I wish there was at least one other girl on this island, just to carry on a decent conversation with." I rambled angrily on as I threw a pebble against the opposite cave wall, just to hear the clatter as opposed to the beating of the storm battling with the dead silence of the cave.

"You have no idea how lonely it is for me... being the only girl. And now that our group can't even keep a simple signal fire going, we're going to die here completely inept in trying to find a way out of this place!" I heard Ralph flinch against the rock wall at the mention of dying on the island. I was painfully aware of the fact that I was being melodramatic, but that was usually the only way that I was able to let off excessive steam, even at home. After a moment longer, I felt my rage run off my skin like rainwater on rocks, leaving an empty, cold surface behind. I listened to the storm for awhile before suddenly feeling remorseful for slewing my angry words before Ralph. I was even about to apologize to him for my outburst before his dry voice suddenly echoed lightly against the cave walls.

"I'm sorry, Lydia." His voice was clear without any trace of the previous emotion that he displayed against the tree outside. Surprisingly, his tone was the most sincere and regretful that I had ever heard from him before, which was successful in silencing my thoughts and focusing entirely on him in the darkness.

"I failed at being a proper leader, thus jeopardizing our hope for rescue."

I heard him shuffle beside me. I turned to look at his shadowy shape creeping closer to mine. I could vaguely make out his face turning towards me as he spoke once again.

"I had hoped that you at least would have made it home."

I softly choked on a lump that had been slowly forming in my throat as I wiped away at something wet trickling down my cheek.

"Ralph... it's not your fault." I responded quietly. I felt Ralph's wet shorts graze against my leg as he sat up a bit straighter and changed his position so that he was now completely facing me in front.

"Perhaps." He spoke. "Either way, it doesn't matter. We're still trapped here." He paused before continuing. "I hadn't meant to come off as cold to you... I was only keeping my distance, Lydia, because I wanted to protect you. However, it seems that I'm doing a poor job of that as well." He laughed without much humor.

"Protect me from what?" I glanced at his silhouette.

"Everything... myself." At first I thought he was making an unfortunate attempt at a joke, though his continued silence after speaking only confirmed that he was somber and truthful... or at least saying what he thought was true.

"That's absurd. You wouldn't do anything to me." I couldn't help the slightly condescending tone in my voice at the very thought of Ralph harming me, though I felt my heart skip a beat. I suddenly felt Ralph's warm breath upon my face and realized that his face was mere finger's width from mine. I shivered and unconsciously shifted my weight closer to the cave wall and away from his immediacy.

"I wouldn't do anything to harm you." He spoke in a whisper, though his closeness allowed me to hear him. My skin warmed over at how intimate his proximity and whispered words must have appeared. My breath became increasingly shallow and quick when he spoke again.

"But there are- other things..."

I paused.

My mind began to teeter again, nearly falling, into dangerous territory that I had never willed it to go before.

"What- other things?" I dared to ask, though my dark thoughts instantly threatened against its loyalty to the more civil part of my being. With a brief glimpse to my side, I realized that Ralph's hands were against the cave wall on each side of my head as he leaned in even closer to graze his lips against my cheek, much he had earlier that day on the beach. His mouth was soft, yet managed to burn against my skin. He pulled back, though kept his face close to mine.

Lightning flashed, allowing me the brief vision of Ralph. His eyes were darkened to a shade that I had not yet seen on him. The almost ferocious way in which he set his jaw caused my frame to tremble in the most pleasing way. I had a feeling he wouldn't have acted this way if I could see him more properly. Darkness was _his_ mask.

"You are tempting." I heard Ralph murmur, almost incoherently, just before I felt him lean in once again to drag his lips lightly across the outer shell of my ear. If I believed my skin to be hot from the atmosphere before, at the moment it absolutely seared with the movement of his mouth. I reveled in the intensity of the moment, despite the fact that he was barely even touching me. If I was temptation as he said, then I was only all the more triumphant in the way that I was able to entice civilized Ralph over into the dark corners within me. The darkness that itched for release from the carefully hidden aspects of my mind. It was like a creature within me that yearned to simply crawl out and play. All the while, however, I still understood little of what was happening between us. Almost as if we were the puppets and something was pulling the strings between us. The rational part of me screamed against this, telling me that this wasn't proper, wasn't right. All reason left me, however, when Ralph crushed his warm body against mine, urgently taking my bottom lip between his, finally surrendering to the lust that burned within us both from the very beginning. It only needed time to grow into the monster that it now was.

I leaned into him, feeling the warm contours of his bare chest against me. My bra was the only barrier that separated our skin. At first my mouth was unmoving against his, allowing him to take my bottom lip again, lightly pulling on it, but the instant I felt his tongue ghost lithely between my lips, I melted even further against him. I lost it. Nothing mattered anymore in this frightening world, but the feeling of Ralph's comforting warmth moving hungrily against me.

My arms finally came to life and slowly made their way up Ralph's sides, taking in every little detail of his skin there. I tightly held him against me, ravenous for the consoling sensation of his body against mine as I slightly opened my mouth to his inquiring tongue. I allowed him to lead. I wanted him to lose himself to the darkness that I had been dangerously flirting with for days within my mind. Never before had my thoughts become so clouded. Never before had my heart raced and beat so erratically within my chest. And never before had I been kissed in a way that was both reckless and careful. The way that he hungrily moved his wet, hot mouth against me was almost calculated, as if these thoughts and motions had trekked through his mind before. Played over and over again within his thoughts. At the same time, I couldn't deny the primitiveness in the way that he touched me, as if he suddenly had no control over his impulses.

My mouth lightly quivered against his with the sheer power and intensity behind his kiss. My heart pounded so viciously against my chest, for a moment, I was afraid that it might give out in pure exhaustion. I arched my back, allowing my breasts to tighten against his chest as I moved my mouth sensually against his. As soon as my hands finished their arduous task up his sides, my fingers threaded through his damp hair.

It wasn't long before my lungs began to burn for oxygen. I gently pulled on his hair and Ralph withdrew. We shared a gasping breath as the thunder cracked. It was then that I realized that our bodies had been slowly progressing down the cave wall onto my days-earlier attempt at a vegetation laden bed. Half his body covered mine. Part of me should have been frightened by the way that Ralph had unknowingly pinned me down, though I was too distracted by how my insides warmed and tingled at how his warm flesh aggressively blanketed over mine.

I tilted my head up, seeing only the cave's shadows as I felt Ralph's mouth graze down the end of my jawbone to the crook of my neck. He passed over a particularly sensitive spot along the line of my collarbone that caused a small gasp to escape my throat. That small noise from me was all it took for Ralph to suddenly and belligerently attack that spot again with his lips and tongue. I quivered and my hands left his scalp to grip his arms, feeling his skin and muscle contract slightly as he tightened his hold upon me. He suckled and even passed his tongue over the now reddened and aggravated spot, effectively leaving a prominent mark.

My fingers dug a little more into Ralph's arms as I felt the invisible tightening of desire deep within my belly. I was a little more than frustrated in not knowing how exactly to rid myself of this tension. Touching him only aggravated my savage body and mind even further. A noise of irritation rose in my throat at this unspoken predicament, yearning and pleading for something unknown.

Ralph must have heard me, for the movement of his mouth quickened and deepened against my skin as he made his way down to the shallow valley of my bra clad breasts. My breathing hitched and a heavy gasp was released upon feeling his incessant hands roughly cup and gently squeeze my developing mounds. It felt as if a surge of electric warmth traveled from where he touched to my lower abdomen. I wondered at this momentarily, barely feeling Ralph's ravenous fingers pull at my bra's tight straps from my shoulders. I was too late to react to the sudden exposure of my chest to the darkness within the cave as his greedy fingertips managed to pull the fabric down.

It was difficult for me to be properly angry about this when I just as quickly felt the smothering, wet, hot mouth of Ralph upon my now bare left breast. I gripped his body even harder as I felt his incessant tongue glide harshly over the hardened tip.

"Gaah—"Incoherent murmurs of pleasure tumbled from my mouth and into Ralph's close ear. As he remained bowed over my chest, his mop of fair hair lightly tickled my nose and mouth.

I quickly released the uncomfortable clasp from behind that held my bra in place and allowed it to fall somewhere to the side of our eager, overheated bodies.

I whimpered as he began to more fully dote upon my breasts with his enthusiastic mouth and curious hands, applying greater pressure than before.

"R-Ralph... please..." I begged, my voice trembling with unfamiliar need.

Ralph grunted against my skin with his own form of desperate frustration, probably out of slight awkwardness over not knowing exactly what to do next to answer my indirect plea... though he was too proud to admit it. I breathily chuckled at this hypothesized realization. We were both new explorers within this realm of human nature. All we knew was what we were told.

I heard Ralph breath a noise of intense discomfort at the feel of my chest wavering slightly with my silent amusement. I knew he hated being laughed at, even if it wasn't malicious. His hands lowered on my body just as he stubbornly pressed a surprisingly hard part of himself firmly between my somewhat opened legs. The warm breath of his enthusiastic moan cascaded against the side of my face. I felt my breath instantly leave my chest at the feeling of his hardened need pressed tightly against me. I could feel the presence of the peculiar wetness between my legs, the same as before from awhile back.

I unconsciously arched my back slightly against him, wanting to feel the whole of his body against mine. It was a poor attempt to get even closer to him than I already was. My fingers left his side and greedily latched onto the front of his shorts, pulling on them without thinking. Ralph's body suddenly stiffened.

Panic instantly coursed through my blood at the memory of what this response from Ralph usually meant: he was going to pull away from me... With stubborn purpose, my hand quickly cupped and firmly pressed against the hardened part of Ralph between his legs. I have no idea what possessed me to do so, but all rational thought was escaping my grasping mind. All I wanted to do was to carnally finally satisfy my rapacious craving for him. It sounded as if a noise had suddenly been trapped within his throat just as he savagely bucked his hips against me. I smirked in the dark. My hands slowly made their way to the front of his shorts where I tenaciously undid his fastening and opened the front. He was still and the darkness forbade me from seeing his face, so I burned with curiosity towards his reaction as I slid his shorts along with his underwear over the slight curve of his lower backside down to his thighs. He made no move to stop me.

My hands shook with what I was doing, but at the same time, I was determined. In the shadows, I could vaguely make out the shape of Ralph. Something that I had never seen before. My mouth dried and my skin grew a little clammy at the thought.

I felt Ralph move closer to me and captured my lips with his, kissing me deeper, with more intent than before. As he kissed me, I took hold of his hands that were still placed on each side of my waist and began to lower them purposefully to the band of my underwear. His mouth instantly stilled upon mine, breaking our kiss prematurely, as I caused his fingers to dip between the fabric and my skin, giving him a hold of my final garment.

"Lydia...?" He spoke. Warm breath fell over my face as he said my name. It was said without contempt for what I was trying to do, but there was a weak question within his tone. A last attempt at reason. And a poor one at that.

"Yes," was all I said before I moved my hands with his even further down my undergarment, causing it to move with us. My hands lightly left his, feeling twisted joy at the feel of him removing my underwear the rest of the way down the length of my legs. It was his doing now. I smiled into the darkness, ignoring the pangs of guilt emitting from my rational self. Ralph kicked off the rest of his garments as well before prowling close, once again, to my uncovered body.

I put my hands forward, feeling the hardened skin of his naked chest, before snaking my arms around his form to pull him over me as I laid myself down upon my makeshift foundation of foliage. We both groaned our contentment the moment that our skin touched, feeling the full length of smooth skin against smooth skin. I parted my legs, allowing Ralph to settle between them.

It was the moment that we completely touched, however, when things began to accelerate in the intensity of heat and tension between the two of us. Ralph began to ardently move himself right up against me, allowing whatever shred of sanity and reason within my mind to immediately burn away.

I reached down between us and grasped at him, earning an intense tremor from his body mingled with an impassioned groan from his throat. I managed to move him to my entrance despite the oppressiveness of the shadows. It was then, that I could go no further. I hadn't noticed the intense shaking within my hand or the heavy, irregular pattern of my breathing, until I had paused long enough to notice. I let go of him and withdrew my hand as I looked up to where Ralph hovered over me. His face mere inches away from mine.

"Ralph... please..." I echoed my previous yearning for him, placing as much need and physical frustration that I had felt for him over the course of our imprisonment on this island. I wanted more than anything for him to be the one to do this to me in this moment instead of simply following my prompts.

He paused.

I waited and remained absolutely still.

Twisted elation flooded my being at the sudden, yet sluggish feeling of Ralph as he finally prodded against my entrance. His hands gripped my hips gently as he slowly but surely pushed against me, the feeling becoming more and more uncomfortable and painfully tight the further that he forced himself deeper within my body. It felt as if he were slowly splitting me into two.

At one point, the strain caused me to grip Ralph's shoulders as I burrowed my forehead into his sticky chest. Ralph, on the other hand, was breathing in short, quick breaths and I could feel his heart thump heavily within his chest as a thin sheen of sweat began to form upon his brow. A flash of lightning revealed to me that his face was contorted with some form of pleasurable intensity.

Ralph began to withdraw a little, allowing me to breathe a little bit easier. Just as soon as he had retreated, however, he made one powerful thrust back into me, completely sheathing himself. I cried out against the sharp pain from his action, just as wet trickles of discomfort traveled down the length of my cheeks.

Ralph had completely lowered his body onto mine at this point, though I felt his face immediately turn towards mine at my sudden reaction.

"D-did I hurt you?" I could tell from the slurred, almost drunken way that his voice formulated his words that he was attempting to fight the thick glaze of bliss surrounding his mind and trying to focus on me at the moment.

I hugged my frame closer to his, hiding my face within his shoulder, despite the fact that he couldn't see the details of my expression in the dark. My voice refused to tell him a lie in order to satiate his concern for me. Of course he had hurt me... but it's what was supposed to happen when it was a girl's first time. Or so I think that's what I'd been told.

"Just wait..." was all I was able to say to him.

We were both still with only the resonance of our labored breathing against the violent blowing of the wind and rain outside. Ralph began to leisurely move his hands from my hips up to the flatness of my stomach to the curve of my breast and back down again, taking in every arch and valley with affectionate detail. His touch held avid curiosity as well as lingering purpose, as if trying to remember each detail of the usually hidden parts of a female's body. It caused me to smile a little to guess at how frustrated he was with the fact that he couldn't see my uncovered form very well in the darkness. With every stroke came a violent shudder of warmth that racked through my frame.

I soon moaned as I pressed my body even further into his, attempting to satisfy my hunger for him, which slowly came back with a vengeance. Ralph responded by moving as gently as he could within me, his hands instantly returning to their former place at my hips. With each movement, he pulled himself a little bit further out of me and ardently thrust back in with more vigor. Instinct now guided his body. My pain, while still lingering throughout, gave way to intensified pleasure the more that Ralph rocked his warm body against me, creating that sinfully delicious rhythm known to man since the dawn of time.

He consistently moaned, while his breath became shallow and quick, the harder and quicker that he thrust into my arching body. As the moments passed, our breaths quickened, as did the frequency in which our high-pitched moans and grunts echoed against the cave walls. Everything came faster and soon our bodies were completely taken over by our crude instinct: to satisfy.

As the seconds slowly passed, all I became aware of was how the pleasant friction caused an unknown tightening of pleasure to coil somewhere deep within my body. The more the invisible coils tightened, the more my blood seemed to throb within my chest and ears. My head felt dizzy with the onslaught of all these new sensations. Ralph's grip upon my hips tightened as he suddenly lifted them up slightly towards him, deepening the angle in which his body met within mine.

An alien feeling of overwhelming warmth and tightness suddenly took hold of my entire being just as Ralph voiced something loud and unintelligible. Unable to hold it together, I felt something within me violently explode, the coils seemed to burst. Deep spasms of white-hot bliss rack through my body, claiming my entire being as I reeled incessantly against Ralph, riding through my torturously overwhelming waves of orgasm. I heard a choking-gasping sound rising from Ralph's throat as he seemed to writhe in his own inescapable, sweet torture. Humid air filled my lungs at the feel of his teeth sinking into my shoulder just as I felt sudden warmth beginning to fill me from the inside.

He collapsed heavily against my body; the movement of his chest gradually began to slow as I felt the throb of his heartbeat decelerating. The atmosphere became both drowsy and tranquil as one of my hands casually made its way down Ralph's sticky back, relishing in the feel of his weight over me.

Time seemed to slow. Even the rain outside our dry, little nook seemed far-away as we both were only conscious of the powerful feeling that we had created with the closeness of each other. It was as if the island no longer held its nightmarish grip over our minds. Even if it was for only a few blissful moments, I had completely forgotten where were and only knew of Ralph's comforting body heat and strength mingling with the pleasurable feelings of deep yearning that we had just consummated.

We stayed like that for another couple of minutes before Ralph lazily moved his head off of my chest, as if reluctantly realizing where he was. He gingerly crouched and I suddenly realized that I missed his weight as it was lifted off of me. As he pulled out of me, I felt the slickness of some sort of wetness leak from within me and onto my thighs. I was too relaxed at the moment to be alarmed by the strange feeling, but took careful notice of it.

He seemed to have also missed the feeling of closeness, for I saw the vague outline of his body hesitate as he was on his knees before finally giving in and laying down next to me in the pile of leaves. Our arms touched. It was only moments until I heard his breathing even out into that of sleep. I sighed before rolling to my side, facing the cave wall, my back to Ralph. The last thing I remembered that night was the feeling Ralph's arm reaching over and pulling me close to him, once again gently coursing the satisfied hum of electricity between our light skin-to-skin contact before being fully enveloped in a deep sleep.

…


	8. A Fragmented Body

**Chapter 8 – A Fragmented Body**

**A/N: **_A great big 'Thank You!' goes out to everyone that reviewed! You're all so amazing!_

* * *

The resonance of numerous exotic insects that were most likely those of an undiscovered kind to the world that waited outside the island were what stirred the wakefulness within me. It was also what had finally caused the dream that Ralph and I had wrought last night to completely dissolve. The peace and restfulness was no longer present when I fully realized how much our predicament had remained unchanged and were no closer to being saved than we were before. To an outsider, my thoughts may have seemed foolish or even laughable. They were simply the unorganized musings of someone who had been rudely awakened from the brief taste of heaven back into their own personal hell. It took me longer to realize that the weight of Ralph's arm over my body was still there. I paused, suddenly remembering everything in excruciating detail of what we did last night. Now that I meditated upon it, here in the daylight without the comforting mask of the night, I was rightly horrified.

_What was I thinking?_

I couldn't even really remember my thoughts last night or correctly order the events that occurred between the two of us. I gritted my teeth when I heard Ralph stir somewhat within his sleep, anxious for his reaction upon waking up. I relaxed the moment he became motionless and seemed to return to his slumber. As I slowly brought myself up from the pile of leaves, I became painfully aware of how brightly lit everything suddenly became. At least some of the awful humidity seemed to have dissipated in the storm's tearful wrath. The realization of the slight coolness in the air lifted my spirits somewhat… that is, until I happened to look down to see myself.

On the inside of my thighs, I was startled at the dark-red smears of blood. And then remembered just how bare my body was at the moment. Feeling suddenly mortified for my nakedness, I quickly searched the shallow cave for my garments and was somewhat distressed to see them in varying spots on the ground intermingled with those of Ralph's.

I gingerly removed myself from Ralph's sleeping grasp before carefully standing up. I walked over to the various spots that held my clothing, snatching them up as I went along. I secured my undergarments first before unknowingly settling my curious gaze upon my sleeping companion. I stilled somewhat, feeling my avid curiosity get the better of my society-enforced modesty. Seeing him completely uncovered for the first time, since darkness had not allowed it the night before, chipped away at my naivety of what the male form really looked like. I tried to ignore the way that my cheeks burned with knowing heat at the memory. The very feel and heat of everything. My legs suddenly felt feeble and my skin bristled with warmth as I looked upon him. I also happened to notice that the same smears on my thighs were on Ralph. My blood. Or so I was fairly sure.

The sight of it brought me out of my stupor, suddenly feeling a fervent compulsion to rid ourselves of the stains, as if they were the unholy blemishes of wrongdoing. With that, I scampered out of the cave and straight into the pool of water outside as I viscously began to wipe at the accusing marks with the water and various leaves that I had found scattered on the ground. I felt my breath attack me, short and shallow, as I urgently grabbed at anything to rub it away. With time, most of it had come off, but there was still a slightly pink tinge to my skin that refused to leave. I breathed easier, though became aware of a ripe soreness between my legs when I was done washing. I suppose it shouldn't come as a surprise, but it was still an unpleasant awakening to reality.

I pulled the underdress over my head just as I heard a meager groan coming in the direction of the cave. My blood froze at the heavy silence that followed with the occasional rustling of leaves. How was he going to react? My limbs felt heavy as lead as I pulled the dress over my head and straightened the stiff material over my body.

As I strode closer to the cave, I could make out the hurried rustling once again. When I finally made my way meekly around the corner into the mouth of the cave, I was greeted with the vision of a half-dressed Ralph pulling the remains of his warped shirt over his head. His shorts, and I assumed his undergarments, were already secured. As soon as his head peeked from the top of his shirt, his dark blue eyes found mine, we stood immobile. I felt my heart beat wildly against my chest upon seeing him look at me, even if he did look a little more mortified than glad at the fact that I was still there. And yet as strange as it may have sounded, I found that I truly wasn't sorry for what we had done the night before. I wondered if I would still feel the same if we weren't on the island. Some aspects of that same warm glow remained between us, even though there was a considerable stretch of physical distance.

I swallowed a difficult protuberance that I had unexpectedly found in my throat as he began to draw closer to me. The longer I watched his expression, the more the pit within my stomach grew into something grotesque. His eyes held guilt and extreme shame. Only an idiot would have been unable to decipher it.

"Y-you're sorry," my words came out much more quiet than what I had expected and yet, it still held the sting of accusation. I didn't miss the way that my words became thick, as if threatening angry tears.

Ralph baulked slightly before casting his gaze away from me and towards the opening of the cave, while occasionally inspecting the ground.

"No—well, yes…" He stumbled through his words, as if trying to sort through something within his mind. He seemed to have tried to say more, but the words stuck in his throat. I watched as he struggled with something—something that I wasn't even sure that I knew how to handle. I just watched dumbly as he nervously fumbled before finally raising his eyes to mine.

"Lydia…" He finally spoke, though it was difficult to say what he was trying to convey. I couldn't decide if he was feeling guilty or just mentally lost in something else entirely. Feeling a little impatient now that I knew that I craved immediate confirmation from him, I reached out to take one of his hands between mine. My thumb crossed the inside of his wrist, just to feel the warmth of his skin, to revive a bit of the lovely memory from last night that now seemed to be no more than a wistful dream.

"Do you regret it, Ralph?" I spoke as gently as I could, trying to temporarily ward off the impatient annoyance from my voice towards whatever it was that was distracting him. I could only guess (or hope, rather) that he wasn't completely horrified with me.

The physical contact seemed to do the trick, for Ralph lost the cloudiness over his gaze as he unwittingly refocused his attention on me. We drew close, relenting to the shameless pull. Society would no longer consider _this_ to be a harmless prepubescent crush. I certainly didn't feel like the typical blushingly naïve schoolgirl with a guileless passion.

Not anymore. I knew. As did he. We were tainted by our actions.

I heard him lose whatever breath he had left when I reached for the side of his face with my other hand, pulling him close to me. Ralph didn't wait for any further encouragement, for his warm mouth immediately sought mine, starting out soft before possessively taking and slowly pulling on my lip. My knees weakened at his deliberate attack against my resolve to hold it together. He was ravenous, as if he had not yet had his fill of me, even after the night before. I startled myself by responding with equal fervor, trying to abuse his lips as much as he was mine. We were breathless and dizzy by the time we pulled apart; I clutched his arms to keep from becoming too lightheaded. An irritated noise escaped me when I realized how much I still craved him. How much I wanted him to utterly ravage me again. It was ridiculous to feel this much longing for another person, I mentally berated myself. I felt as if I wanted to completely merge with him and to never separate. And yet I simultaneously felt uncomfortable with the thought and released my hold of him before taking a step back, once again believing myself a sinful scarlet.

I cast my gaze elsewhere. Ralph had a similar look of breathlessness, though never took his eyes off me as he slowly reclaimed the strength in his posture.

During our moment of silence and contemplation, Ralph likewise turned away from me and towards the woods as if he had heard something. I, not having heard anything out of the ordinary, followed his line of sight, listening. However, he continued to stare, seeing or remembering things that I had no inclusion in. I watched as his face morphed into that of horror and distance, as if he were deeply pained. I saw his breathing pattern change; his eyes began to coat with grief as he looked back at me.

I was a little worried by his sudden transformation and reached out a hand to his arm, tempted to pull him back, out of whatever nightmare he was currently reliving.

"Don't!" Ralph stepped away from me. His hands suddenly fisted tightly at his sides.

His avoidance hurt even more than the night by the fire when he did had first done it. I felt the familiar surge of anger singe my insides, attempting to conceal my wounded pride from him.

"Well—what? What did I do?" I snapped, my face growing hot.

"Not you. Me!" He countered. Although I saw his eyes darken with anger, I could tell that he wasn't directing it at me. I felt my skin grow numb.

"What did you do?" I asked mildly, feeling my own passion run thin and was quickly replaced with the heavy manifestation of dread.

Ralph turned his face away from me, but not before I saw the product of his grief blink from his eyes and escape. He scoured the tears away with the back of his fist as quickly as if they were the incriminating evidence of his unspoken deeds.

"Something that I can never take back…" he said.

That stilled my mouth. My mind reeled with the sickening possibilities as we stood in silence until Ralph made the first move. He started walking in the direction of the beach with the shelters. I followed at a few paces behind him. The day had warmed to its familiar muggy heat as we made our way through the creepers, avoiding the contorted extremities of the trees and undergrowth. When we emerged, I _felt_ more than saw the empty expanse of the beach. I followed Ralph blindly, the numbness of my skin growing. I noticed the glint of round glasses and its owner on the platform, the conch tucked protectively within his lap as he sat cross legged. He stared at the ocean.

Ralph made his way over before sitting on the ground next to him, bringing his legs close to his chest. I sat on the other side of Ralph, feeling my wary gaze upon the back of his neck as he craned to look at the ground. Piggy barely even registered our presence as he continued to stare at nothing.

"You're here Piggy…" Ralph spoke softly, his voice having a slightly faraway quality that made my stomach churn. "I guess it's just us now."

Piggy acknowledged his words with the slightest movement of the head. His hands, now white with tension, gripped the conch even more firmly than before.

"Did anyone else come back?"

"Samneric are gathering wood," Piggy spoke, his voice aiming for normalcy, though I could detect a distant quality beneath the tone, similar to Ralph's.

"Anyone _else_?"

"Not that I know of," Piggy paused, looking at Ralph now instead of the ocean. The conch slipped out of his determined hold and landed gently onto his lap.

"That… was… _murder_," Ralph's voice strained, his face breaking somewhat, illuminating the true, dark misery that had been crushing him. I caught my breath, feeling even sicker. He snatched the conch on Piggy's lap and held it in his own crushing grip, one of desperation as he released a hysterical laugh. It wasn't the laugh of humor or even of sarcasm, it was of outright insanity, like those that were about to be sent to the madhouse. I sat unmoved as I watched.

"We were participants in a murder!" He cried to the sky as the gleaming conch slipped from his sweaty palm onto the pliable sand between them.

"Don't say that! It was an accident!" Piggy's face enflamed and his eyes glossed over with his iron-clad conviction. "NO one could have stopped it. What with how dark it was and the chanting and… and…" Piggy trailed off, his voice losing momentum the longer his pauses stretched on. "It just—it just wasn't… what you said."

"Oh Piggy—" Ralph said, his voice cracked, his face now shoved upon his knees, his hands covering the back of his head as he fought against it, threatening to give rise, to claim his body for all that it was worth. I felt my heart wretch at the sight of Ralph, hunched over and crestfallen, a creature on the brink of losing their rationality. Without thinking, I reached over and enclosed his shoulders in a half embrace. Although he attempted to move away, I tightened my grip, refusing to let him go. After a while, he stopped his half-hearted attempt at a struggle and soon began to lean into me. I could feel his back quivering slightly with inaudible sobs that I otherwise would have been unaware of.

Piggy was disinclined to speak for the remainder of the afternoon, preferring to keep his red face and rehearsed claim to innocence. I remained with Ralph, brought him water and whatever food I could scavenge, while Piggy enclosed himself within one of the shelters and remained unstirred. Samneric soon came back with wood and started making the fire. No words were exchanged and I could tell by their refusal to meet my eyes that they were there too with Ralph and Piggy when Simon got killed. Though no one mentioned his name, I figured it out the moment I realized his absence from our camp and the fact that no one had commented on it. My heart grew heavy when I came to grips with the idea that I had been rather close when it happened… right before the storm hit.

The day wore on and Ralph still hadn't said another word to me, though I managed to coax him into one of the last standing shelters to keep him out of the sun. He already wasn't entirely himself; I didn't need him acting like a sunstroke lunatic on top of that.

By the time night bore down on us, the last remainders of a broken camp whose goal still hung like nearly unrecognizable fragments over our minds, the peace of sleep refused to console us. I could hear the rustling of the others trying to find dreams of home, but only finding night terrors. The handful of little'uns that remained blubbered softly, knowing that full out crying wasn't going to do them any good. There were no grown-ups to hear them, after all. No one would come to them.

I remained close to Ralph as he struggled about in his sleep. He mumbled and groaned, which robbed me any chances of getting my own rest, though somehow I didn't mind too much. After he rolled over, somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, he opened his eyes, surprised to see me directly next to him. "Lydia?" He spoke, his voice lethargic, making him sound rather confused.

"Yes, I'm here," I answered, taking his hand that lay next to mine, entwining our fingers. His breath seemed to even out upon hearing me, though he continued to stare. I offered him a small smile.

"Miss me?" I released a breathy, dry laugh, a hint of mischief crawled into my tone. Ralph continued to stare, though I see his mouth loosen and open slightly. I released his hand as I sat up, feeling the heavy craving beginning to stir within my gut as my eyes remained upon his jaw. The warm memories from the night before began to cause heavy shivers to trickle throughout my frame. I felt his eyes as I got up onto my knees, careful to not disrupt the shelter as I slowly, purposefully straddled his waist. I heard a small gasp escape him. He gradually pushed his upper body up, his suddenly fervent, slightly quivering hands settled at my waist as I slowly, teasingly slid down his body. I felt his breath come a bit quicker as I allowed myself down onto his lap, feeling the growing excitement between his legs. He droned something incoherent as I brought him close, feeling the entire length of his warm chest against mine. I whimpered softly. My stomach was quickly becoming an unsettled bundle of hot nerves. I felt Ralph's mouth form my name against my throat and heard it whispered, causing a violent shiver to raise the hairs on my skin. Our noses met and just as our lips barely touched an abrupt, violent explosion of howls and shrieks instantly blackened the air mere feet away from our shelter, as if a horde of demons had suddenly found the gateway out of Hell. (I wouldn't be all that surprised if this was, in fact, what the island really was…)

I cried out briefly, unable to contain the alarm that had suddenly coated my throbbing pulse as we attempted to disentangle from each other as quickly as possible. I heard the high-pitched squeals and cries from the little'uns nearby as well as some painful yelps from Piggy over at his shelter. With my back to the entrance of our shelter, I felt someone reach in and yank me by the hair, hauling me out. I saw Ralph scramble out as fast as he could, but wasn't able to get to his feet before someone knocked him over. I screamed at him just as the person dragging me suddenly let go of my hair.

"It's her!" One of the boys shouted, though I couldn't place a name with the voice. I made it to my feet, my eyes wildly looking at the group of savages. Two of them were on Piggy, grabbing at his face, while another two were struggling with Ralph on the ground. There were more, but I couldn't make them out in the dark. I heard one of them chuckle close to me, his voice truly causing my body to tremor.

"Well, well, well—if it's isn't the little harlot." I couldn't see Jack, but I could imagine the horrible smirk that he must have had behind that painted face of his. I attempt to slug one of the tall savages next to me, only hoping that it was Jack, but feel someone clamp both of my hands behind my back before I can do so. Another savage points his spear at my throat, lessening my attempts at a struggle.

"That won't work, Lydia. I know all your little tricks." Jack laughed before turning to the savages that were finally done with Piggy as they approached him.

"We got it, chief!" They yelled, clearly ecstatic with themselves.

"Good. Now tie her up." Jack ordered, steel lining his voice. The savages holding me start their binding process, while I feel dirty cloth being stuffed into my mouth. I try not to be sick at the taste and can only hope that it's not from someplace awful. Who knows with dirty boys? I heard Ralph curse violently at the savages that are still doing a number on him as he scuffles with them.

"Why?" spoke up an unnervingly quiet voice that I assumed was Roger. "What do we need _her_ for?"

"She's mine now." Jack's voice rose slightly, though in a controlled manner. "_They_ can't have her anymore." My hot resentment surged at being talked about like an object, a game piece on the board. At that I viciously shove and tussle against my assailants. Jack cries something out, though I didn't catch the words. Just as one of the savages falls back and loosens his grip on my arm, a sharp, heavy pain meets the back of my head. The blackness completely closes in and all sensations fade into nothing.

**:**

When I awaken, I find myself staring into the side of a cave. It's dim, but the filtered light is enough to alert me that it's about late morning or the middle of the day. My first thought is that I must be back at my cave where no one can find me; though suddenly remember the events that led up to my forced unconsciousness. Then, I'm precipitously aware of the throbbing pain in the back of my head as well as the rawness of my wrists still in their tight bonds. I screw my eyes shut, hoping that this is just one of the many nightmares that was plaguing us while still on the beach. My hope dies when I hear their voices, speaking just outside wherever I'm being held at.

"Is she awake yet?" Roger's voice is clearly irritated. There are two other voices that I can only assume are my guards say that they haven't heard anything from me yet. They sound hesitant, maybe even a little scared, though if it was because of Roger or their assigned duty, I wasn't sure. I could hear Roger walk away, mumbling something, though I can only catch "…she shouldn't be here…" before he's too far away for me to hear any more.

"When will Jack be back?" the younger sounding guard said, his voice dangerously close to a whine.

"Shut up!" the other guard spoke. I hear the sound of a smack. "Do you want to end up like Wilfred this morning?" I bristle, wondering what exactly happened to this Wilfred.

"Well—no…"

"Then stop your moaning."

"I just don't understand what he was punished for…"

There's a pause. I strain my ears, careful not to make a sound.

"Just shut up about it, ok? We're not supposed to question our chief! Didn't he give reason enough? He said that the other tribe is a danger to ours. He was just making an example."

"But Wilfred's on our side."

There's another long pause before the older guard sighed, most likely forcing the other guard to drop it by not talking to him. I bit down on my cloth gag, trying to keep my emotion in check when my thoughts turned towards Ralph, Piggy, and Samneric. What happened to them? Where they captured in separate caves or still out there on the beach or… worse?

My throat suddenly itches and I find that I'm in desperate need of water. I wonder if I should alert my guards or continue to feign my unconsciousness. The possibility of water wins out and I force myself upright, accidently scraping my bound hands against a rock as I steady myself. The guards turn towards me just as I turn towards them. We lock eyes for just a moment before the younger one runs off. The older one stares at me, a wicked looking spear casually gripped in one hand. I make a noise in the back of my throat, trying to make it sound as if I were attempting to talk to him. He hesitates before coming into the cave and reaches for the cloth. He yanks it out. I breathe, more appreciative at the moment than angry. "Thanks." My voice sounds tired. Almost as tired as my jaw for having the gag in all night.

He doesn't say anything, but looks at me curiously. Just then the younger guard and Roger come back to the small cave's entrance. I'm guessing that Castle Rock was pocked with similar caves. None going in too far, just shallow indentations.

"Finally up, I see." Roger says, seeming to be almost bored with my presence, as if I were a mere nuisance that needn't be inconvenienced with. "I don't see why he bothers with you. Girls never make good fun." I look up at him, seeing for the first time his coated spear. Almost the entire thing was painted deep burgundy. Old blood. He chuckled, an almost demonic sound from a meager boy as he saw where my gaze traveled to.

"Want to know how I got it so pretty?" he inquired.

I look away from him, my eyes boring into the side of the cave. My answer doesn't matter. He'd tell me anyway.

"I killed her: the sow. Right up the arse." I can't help it, I look at him. I felt my blood leave my face. The atmosphere somehow seems cooler as he smiles at me. A gleam within his eyes telling me that he enjoyed it very much. "…only thing girls are good for." He says off handedly as he turns to leave the cave.

I turn to the guards after I'm sure that Roger is gone. I swallow the lump in my throat, trying to keep myself in check. "Where's Ralph?" I ask them. I curse myself for the slight tremble within my voice.

One of the guards shifted on his feet. "I dunno. But he better stay away if he knows what's good for him."

I sigh, glad to know that he's not being held captive or tortured. As long as that were the fact, I'd try my best to not lose it over here.

"I need water." I say, trying to sound as mild as I could. The guard hesitates before ordering the younger one to bring me some.

"Would it be possible for you to tie my hands in front of me instead of behind? Then I could drink by myself, and then you wouldn't need to help me." I say as innocently as I can. The guard hesitates.

"I will, but only if you don't try anything."

"Fine," I shrug.

By the time the other guard arrives with the water, he's ordered to watch me from the front, while the other adjusts my bonds. The younger guard points his spear at me the whole time. Meanwhile, I'm good on my word and don't try anything. I didn't have a plan anyway and it would be good to earn some sort of trust from some of the savages around here if I ever did hope to get out. By the time the guard is satisfied with my new bonds in front, he hands me the coconut shell filled with water. I chug it down.

I nearly choke on it the moment I hear an altogether familiar sound. The conch. I hadn't heard it in so long, it was almost like the stricken reminiscence of the rebuke of a parent, still ever-present, still in control. My guards act similarly and almost look chastised for a brief moment, though it only lasts for a moment. Soon they're racing to the edge of Castle Rock to see where it was coming from. I knew it was Ralph. The way he blew the conch was distinct, unlike the way Jack attempted to blow it in any case. I walk to the edge of my cave, seeing a small group of boys standing over the edge. Roger was off to the side as quiet and watchful as ever. No one seemed to be minding me at the moment, so I sauntered off to the edge as well, peering from behind some boulders until I caught sight of Ralph's blonde head and Piggy's round face, almost unfamiliar without his glasses. Jack must have taken them during their raid. Samneric were standing a bit behind them. The last of their group. They were all wielding spears.

"Get out of here!" "Go back to where you came from!" A couple of the guards threw stones at them, aiming to miss. A few others follow in on their example. Ralph doesn't flinch. Piggy squints up at them, probably unaware that there are stones being thrown at them. Roger is still as a statue, but my eyes travel to him every once in awhile, wary of him ever since his grotesque declaration within the cave.

"I'm calling an assembly!" Ralph raises his voice over theirs. I feel a comfortable familiarity with Ralph's attempt, even if it is fruitless.

The savages ignore him, only throwing more stones, still aiming to miss. I felt a thin layer of sweat coat my skin and began to wonder how long this is going to go on for. The answer came in the form of Jack and his hunting party, dragging a bloodied pig from the creepers. The moment the redhead's and blonde's eyes connected, the air seemed to thicken.

"What are you doing here?" Jack shot at him from behind. "You keep to your end of the island and leave us alone."

Ralph laughed. It was harsh and bitter. "Oh yea? And what exactly have you been doing about that? You sure don't keep to _your_ side of the island, as you put it. We've come here to get Piggy's specs _you_ pinched! He can't see without them!" Ralph's complexion was slightly red. Although it was difficult to see beneath Jack's painted face, I could tell that it distorted with a horrible wrath as he took his spear and lunged for Ralph. Somewhat expecting this, Ralph barely parried the blow with the side of his spear. They continued with a few more frenzied blows, though they didn't seem to land the other with too many hits. Soon they were both panting, staggered by the other's ferocity. Ralph took a deep breath before straightening his back, fully looking at Jack.

"Jack, this really is silly. Don't you see how important it is to keep the fire going? Don't you see how important it is that we get rescued? You can continue playing your games if you want, but we _must_ keep the signal fire going!" Ralph's appeal for sanity apparently fell on deaf ears, for the hunters appeared to remain unaffected by his words.

Jack looked back up at the hunters staged up on Castle Rock as well as his hunters surrounding them before landing his gaze upon Samneric. "Take them!" He gestures with his spear towards the twins. "Tie 'em up!"

The hunters apprehended the twins, who made minimal effort in their defense and dropped their spears before the hunters even had a chance to yank them away. The hunters bellowed in triumph after successfully subduing them. Ralph glared at Jack before charging at him with his fists. Jack, caught off guard, dropped his spear after taking a swift blow to the stomach. He grunted. Crying out harshly, Jack swung his own fist, clipping Ralph's ear. Soon they were sprawled on the ground, trying to gain the upper hand. The savages were cheering the whole fight on, excited to see some action. I, on the other hand, was completely horrified and frightened for Ralph. He was only one if any of the others decided to join in.

Piggy was screaming, screeching with such an ungodly shrill voice, that it stopped the brawl as well as the shouts of encouragement from the others. Jack and Ralph were breathless and staring at each other with an expression that was strange to decipher. There was some level of disbelief, hatred, as well as a tinge of reluctant respect that they could hold their own against each other.

Piggy began his tirade against the savages, trying to call them into reason, though I couldn't make out his words as I saw Roger leaning, heaving against the lever that was wedged beneath a shaky boulder. I stared at him stupidly for a few moments before fully realizing what he was trying to do. My heart seemed to ram itself into my throat in that moment. "What are you doing?" I glowered at him. My indirect allegation only made him work faster, heaving his whole weight into the lever just as I quickly made my way over to him, despite my restraints and the throng of savages that stood between me and him. By the time I reached him, it was too late. The boulder had been released. I released a vicious scream, lunging myself at Roger. I shoved him, my body weight now over his sprawled form, the stick used as a lever fell over the ledge into the tide.

"Ralph!" I cried. He saw it coming before he heard me and had already dodged the mass. Doing so, however, caused it to pummel right into Piggy. The conch shattered into innumerable fragments. I lost my breath, my reason, my sanity for those few moments. I violently choked on my horror as Roger flipped us so that he was now on top, his face still etched with his murderous intensions. I could read it in his face plain as day, through the leering scowl and gritted teeth as he glowered down at me_: you're next_.

My heart thrashed in my chest when Jack's savage hunter's cry reverberated through the air. Both Roger and I simultaneously looked down Castle Rock just in time to see Jack hurl his spear at Ralph, grazing the front of his chest, taking skin and flesh, but missing its mark. Other kids joined in just as Ralph turned and ran, swiftly dodging the largest of the outstretched creepers as he plunged within its depths. The other spears whizzed past him, too close, while only a couple managed to miss him completely. A few of the savages ran in pursuit of him, while most turned to the fuming chief for further instruction.

"Roger!" Jack verbally spewed, barely containing his rage. He turned his fierce gaze on us, Roger still over me. The sight of it looked pretty bad to anyone that had no clue as to what we were previously doing. "You were supposed to be on watch! Did the _witch_ distract you?" He leered.

"As if," He said monotonously, his calm voice making my skin crawl, my back still to the ground. Roger didn't have the decency to look even slightly shamed. Turning from the chief, he hit me hard across the face before spitting on the ground, inches from me. He got up, walked past Jack, barely missing his shoulder. I cautiously got up, feeling the burning sting on my cheek, just as my resentment for Roger began to scald to ambitious proportions in that single moment.

Jack's face was incomprehensible as he turned to face the rest of his hunters. "We'll catch him. It'll only be a matter of time now." There was still a slight vibration within his voice, though he was slowly gaining back his disreputable control over his passion. And with that, he retreated back into Castle Rock along with the rest of his tribe.

After a rather bitter exchange with my guards for having let me out of their sight, Jack set up completely new savages to watch me as I resumed my spot somewhere in the middle of my shallow cave. I could hear the tortured cries of my previous guards as Jack allowed Roger to have his way with them. Their sounds coupled with Roger's delighted snickers chilled my blood and my mind was set on edge. My hands fisted against my ears, poorly trying to drown out the sequence of dark malevolence that had taken place. Before long, the evening descended upon us, while the cooking fires were lit, having another of their savage ceremonies with the meat that they brought back along with some bizarre ritual of offering some part of the animal to the beast. The smell of it wafted over to the caves and I suddenly realized that all I've had today was water. My stomach is instantly pained at the thought and my head began to swim, despite my dislike for pig meat. I brought my bound hands close to my chest, feeling chilled despite the lukewarm air.

It isn't long until Jack makes his appearance at the entrance of my cave prison, waving back the guards, who are relieved to finally eat their fill for the evening at the fire. I stiffened and protectively tightened my knees against my chest and bonded hands.

"Get up," Jack ordered. He came closer and it isn't until he's an arm's length away from me that I notice that he's holding food. It is meat, but its food all the same. My mouth waters and my eyes travel to the source despite my best efforts to hide it. I grudgingly stand up, trying to do it steadily without breaking my eye contact as it shifts towards him. He gives me the meat. He proceeded to stand there as I ate and while it was unnerving, I immediately found that I couldn't blatantly turn down the food. While I wanted to be defiant, I also knew that it was downright stupid to voluntarily starve. It was only after I finish eating did I catch the glint of the rounded specs hanging from Jack's knife belt. And before I can catch myself, I felt the hot wetness overwhelm my eyes, spilling over onto my cheeks. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. I mentally berate myself as I angrily wipe away at the sign of weakness. It was the absolute worst timing to be crying in front of a monster as he was looming over you.

I saw Jack smirk, clearly amused by my reaction. I return his look for my own dark scrutiny, barely covering the contempt and vengeance I feel over the actions that have so far led to two deaths on the island (that is, ones that I know of).

"You know there's no beast out there to kill." I blurt out, mildly surprised at the vicious tone that my voice took on. I wasn't even aware that I could sound like that. "You're just using it to manipulate them." I had no idea what my purpose was for saying this. Perhaps there was none, but it felt good to say it in any case.

Jack deflected my accusation with a cool smile, his whole body now calm, especially when compared to the vigorous passion that he had previously displayed on the steps of Castle Rock. He was almost graceful in his movements as he drew closer to me.

"Is that so, _Lydia_? So you think you've got it all figured out? I don't think you should be looking so far if you want to hunt down the wicked here."

"What are you saying?" I feel my voice lose the conviction that I held seconds ago, though refused to relent to anything. Jack reached one of his dirty hands over. I felt myself cringe just as he softly stroked my cheek with his forefinger.

"I'm _saying_—" Jack closed in on me so that our noses barely touched. His hand now gripped my chin, forcing me to look at him. I held onto my breath, though managed to not move a hair. "—that Ralph… and yes, even you— are just as bad as me. It's not so hard to be immoral after all." He chuckled lightly, his eyes deceptively serene, masking the potency behind his words.

I try unsuccessfully to back my head away from his tightening grip on my chin as he speaks. "Ralph's right. You're a monster." This time I don't notice the hot tears as they create tracks down my cheeks, an image of Piggy burns within my mind as my voice begins to take on the shades of a shriek. "You're nothing but a monster; a bloody thief and murderer!"

Without warning, I felt Jack hit me so hard across the face in exactly the same spot that Roger had, it instantly dazed me. I could already feel it beginning to swell as the blood rushed to my face. My legs felt sickeningly unstable, though my body was instantly pinned by Jack's alongside the cave wall. The rough rocky barrier painfully jabbed my back as his body pressed hard against mine. I felt his heavy breathing against the good side of my face, down my ear. He exhaled harshly as he grounded his groin against my hip, keeping his steely grip on my wrists against the wall. I attempted to twist my body away, though only succeeded in squirming beneath him. Jack laughed quietly into my ear, though it was somewhat strained. I warily brought my eyes to him.

"You think you know Ralph," Jack paused to lick his lips, though an impish look came over his eyes after doing so and he immediately brought his mouth closer to my throat where I felt the cool, slickness of his tongue graze my flesh. I felt my skin bristle uncomfortably as I drew a shaky breath. "I saw what he did the night of our grand feast—" He spoke, his lips ghosting over my neck as he not so gently grated the edge of his teeth over the exact place where Ralph's mouth had been only a couple of nights ago, where he left his mark on me. I could almost feel Jack's eyes trained on Ralph's slowly fading bruise on my neck. He lifted his mouth even further before adding to his speech, "—and I saw how much he enjoyed it."

I hardened at his words, trying to tell myself that he was only spewing lies, _trying_ to add to the churning nausea within my gut as he spoke about Ralph in that manner. A quiet sob escaped my throat, when he brutishly bit me in the same area of my neck, further staining my vulnerable skin. "And you—"He spoke, his voice growing steadily raw with a hidden hunger that I already held a vague familiarity with. "Tell me what you've been up to, my little Lydia," his voice filled with mock tenderness as he brushed my hair back, revealing more of my face to him. I dared to meet his gaze and was terrified by the ferocious malice exhibited beneath his now crippled mask of coolness.

"Tell me," he repeated in a tone that was now soft. "Did you let him fuck you?"

I shivered beneath him, shocked at his crude bluntness and accuracy. My face heated, suddenly feeling the heavy hand of humiliation and guilt. Hearing his words out in the open made the memory of what I had done with Ralph more of a reality instead of the dream that I had come to think of it as. No longer did I view it as an innocent deed within a shadowed cave, but as a bloodied mark of transgression against my name. A more audible sob escaped my throat as I turned my face away from him. No sooner did I feel Jack's rough hand bring my chin back towards him. He laughed again, a soft, barely audible one as he whispered, "Not so different... after all." I felt my face burn, refusing to meet his eyes. He continued.

"So pretty, golden boy isn't as innocent as he lets on." Jack took part in a sickly delighted grin, though a hint of bewilderment crossed his eyes briefly before it just as suddenly disappeared. I saw Jack's eyes grow dark, though not with hatred, but with a deep-seeded physical craving as he pushed his pelvis into mine.

"Did he fuck you hard?" His voice became coarse. I felt his crotch against my inner thigh suddenly grow stiff with his question. His face became so over-clouded with desire; I felt an immensely acidic nausea rise from my stomach, especially upon hearing him refer to what Ralph and I had done in such a vulgar manner.

"Jack!"

Roger's voice barked behind us, causing Jack to push me away from him as suddenly as if I were a vile infection.

"What! Can't you see I'm busy?" Jack snarled at him, his face losing the heated expression that he held with me and flooded with annoyance as he turned towards Roger, standing nonchalantly at the entrance. Roger didn't respond immediately, though managed to throw a repelled expression towards me before turning back to his chief.

"We're waiting for you to start the initiation with our newest additions," Roger stifled a yawn before continuing, almost looking at bored as his air suggested. "It took longer than expected, but I eventually got them in shape." I openly scowled at him, wondering what he meant by _that_.

"Fine," Jack sighed, clearly agitated. He grabbed at my bound wrists in front of me just as he started to walk towards the entrance, pulling me after him.

"We will have three initiations tonight," He said quietly as he passed Roger. I didn't get to see Roger's reaction, for my eyesight was instantly emblazoned by the large, bright cooking fire and was pushed next to the standing Samneric, their bruised and scratched faces staring solemnly at their sun-browned toes as the chanting around us commenced. I swallowed thickly as I looked at them, feeling suddenly guilty for their capture.

"I'm so sorry," I mumbled to the twin closest to me. I felt a sharp prod on my shoulder blade from the blunt end of a spear as they continued their chant.

"Shuddup!" One of the boys yelled at me. The twins shuffled uncomfortably, though refused to meet my eyes or even respond to my apology.

When the chant ended, Jack gave an impromptu speech on how we were now a part of his tribe. I was too dazed and apprehensive to remember or to even pay attention to whatever he was saying, though felt an upsurge of paralyzing fright the moment I was forced to my knees. Samneric received the same treatment. Soon our faces were being slathered with the homemade paint of the savages. The twins were still as death, though I struggled until a spear had been poised dangerously close to my throat, forcing my stillness unless I wanted to be stabbed.

The boys shrieked their triumph and cut away at the bonds of Samneric before giving each of them a spear. I would have used it against them had they given me one, though the twins simply stood there, lifeless, completely conquered. The others must have seen my intentions, for they neglected to cut my bonds or give me a weapon.

Jack got down from his rocky throne before grabbing a fistful of my hair, causing me to cry out in pain as he forced me back to my feet. I gritted my teeth as he used this leverage to wrench me after him, though I tried to walk as close as I could in order to prevent any unnecessary yanks from my scalp. He let go the moment I was back in my cave prison. "You should be grateful to be a part of my tribe," he sneered at me the moment we were alone.

"Well excuse me for not celebrating," I spoke through my teeth, giving him the dirtiest look that I could manage.

Jack laughed, his icy stare regarding me. "At least you're not dead at the bottom of the cliff. That's where you'd be if Roger would have gotten his way."

I felt somewhat subdued, no longer feeling the lesion of fear at the reference of death at the hands of that monster of a boy. The only good thing about having the ugly paint over my face was that it allowed me to better hide my grief from him. Jack drew close to me. Close enough so that our faces were a mere inch apart. His hand held my chin towards him, tilting my face up.

"You're mine now, my pretty swine." His other hand fisted my hair, close to my scalp, disallowing any movement as his mouth seized mine. I closed my mouth, tightly pursing my lips through his wet kiss before he finally withdrew. I knew I made him angry, for he brutally pulled at my hair before completely letting go, pushing me away from him.

"Don't worry. We'll have our fun tomorrow. If you don't loosen up by then, I won't be so generous. Things will be a lot more painful than they have to be." He spoke so quietly in his repellently calm voice, I looked away unless I wanted to feel the bile come up my throat again.

I heard the muted padding of his feet as he withdrew from the cave. Within moments, my new guards were stationed at the entrance. All I could do was wait until dawn, for I knew that I would find no sleep here. My body trembled with Jack's implications as did my mind for my thinning sanity. No eyes traveled in my direction as my tears began to flow, no longer refusing to hide, allowing my sickened heart to grieve for Simon, Piggy… and Ralph.

If I wanted to survive on this island, I knew that I had to change my strategy. My civilized mine cried out against the thoughts that next came to my mind, lashed out as vehemently as it could against the very prospect. However, its strength had grown less the longer that we remained here. As much as I hated admitting to it, I knew that the prospect of being rescued was essentially zero at this point. Any hope and reason for pursuing being rescued had died along with Piggy. He was the most rational, the most intelligent of us all. If there was one thing that I would miss most about him, it would be his voice of reason, his common sense that rang loud and clear when the rest of us had forgotten what such a thing was. And now that he was gone, I had to search for my own reason, my own sense.

But what if that's not enough?

What if it won't help me to see another day unscathed?

I would have to resort to my other human instinct, one that was equally, if not stronger and just as resilient: to persist. To live for as long as I can on this island. And to see to it that Ralph would as well… even if he refused to relent to my path of the basest form of animalistic preservation.

**:**


	9. Mark of Savagery

**Chapter 9 – Mark of Savagery**

**A/N: **_Thanks to those that are sticking with me through this. I know I'm not the fastest updater and I apologize for the wait. I hope that this chapter is to your satisfaction. There is more to come yet for this story. :) Enjoy._

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Despite my resolve to evade sleep's persistence, it had eventually snared my tired form, taking a hold of my body in its gentle embrace before heaving me under. My dreams were of no consolation, they only managed to torture my startlingly fragile state of mind with images of the flickering lights within the forest on the night of the great storm, the same that forever sealed away Simon's bright, gentle eyes… of the blood that smeared my thighs… of Ralph's breathless release as he collapsed against my body… and of Piggy's broken skull before the sea rinsed away the evidence of such brutal slaughter.

I woke up shaking, in a bath of my own slick perspiration, evidence of the uncomfortably hot midday sun, already making its assault upon the simmering island. I unclenched my hands and loosened my gritting teeth as I sat myself up. My eyes settled on the opening of the cave, taking in the void with sluggish confusion.

_Where are my guards?_ I managed to get myself to my feet despite my bound wrists and cautiously made my way to the front. An abrupt splash of red came into my peripheral field of vision before I barely managed to peek my head out of the cave. My heart hammered heavily as my body reacted without my working mind, swiftly backing off, nearly to the rear of the cave, as the sudden surge of more nervous perspiration assaulted my skin. I felt my rapid breath become short as I mentally registered that Jack was just outside of my cave prison accompanied by the majority of his hunters. They all carried their spears as if readying for an extravagant hunt.

"Roger!" I heard Jack shout. "You stay here with the twins to guard Castle Rock. We mustn't let the beast near it."

There was a murmur amongst the boys. Some of them sounded fearful, while others were merely agreeing with their chief. There was a moment of argument between the littluns. Jack attempted to reign in the attention of the boys once again. I snorted quietly. So much for being the all-mighty chief of savages.

When he reclaimed their reverence, Jack continued, almost sounding a bit annoyed at having to explain things to his younger audience. Jack was amongst the oldest on the island after all.

"We are going to make a second offering to the beast before going on a hunt for more meat. Now that we have more mouths to feed, we need to hunt more often." Towards the end, I could tell in his voice that he was growing restless. There was a small grumble of discontentment amongst the hunters before something suddenly silenced them. I could only wonder at what, for my eyes offered no explanation. My abhorrence for Jack was stronger than my curiosity, so I stayed put.

The hunters moved out not long afterwards and my spirits lifted slightly with Jack's momentary departure. Only slightly… for I remembered who exactly he had left behind. I mentally cursed vile things towards Roger.

Not five minutes had passed before the individual showed up at the mouth of my cave prison. He stared at me in a way that was unnervingly empty behind his savage paint. He was prepared for a hunt. His belt was secured about his naked waist and his spear was poised, though deceptively casual in his hand. It took me awhile to remember my own mask of savagery and I tried to appear as vacant-eyed as he was, though it was impossible for me to tell if I had managed it. He walked closer to me, his eyes never wavering.

"Turn around," he spoke, his voice as hollow and inert as his face. I felt chills prickle at my skin as I backed myself into the cave wall. Sweat broke on my brow as I made my silent refusal to follow his directions. No sane person would follow that order from a boy that proved that he could have been the Devil incarnate through his taste for blood. I still retained some sanity, it seemed. I attempted to swallow, though my throat was too dry to do even that.

"If you don't turn around—"Roger spoke again, his voice light and even, as if he were commenting on the climate. Before I could react, he promptly raised his spear, pressing its sharp point against my neck, just enough to where it didn't break the skin "—I will ram this through your throat so fast, you won't even have time to scream."

I had no doubt in my mind that he was capable of holding up to his promise, so I turned around, flinching slightly when I accidentally pressed my bruised cheek into the cool cave wall.

"Very good," Roger said quietly.

I felt him grasp at my tangled hair from behind and pull be back towards him. I grunted, still aware of the spear as it lithely grazed down my back, waves of shivering goosebumps woke upon its trail.

"We're going on a walk."

I didn't like the sound of that. Somehow I didn't think that I would be returning from this _walk_. I tried to bite back on my apprehension as he guided me towards the entrance of the cave, but its presence in my mind began to rapidly cultivate and soon overshadowed all my other thoughts with every step that I took. By the time we were outside, I only saw handfuls of little'uns playing some games with pebbles, not minding us as we passed them, completely unfazed by what might be happening between the two big'uns. The sight of such blissful innocence threatened tears for reasons that I couldn't name, though I choked them down.

We left Castle Rock just as I caught a brief vision of Samneric standing on guard on the outskirts of the fortress. I threw them a desperate glance as Roger pushed me passed them into the jungle. One of the twins looked away while the other retained my gaze, giving me an expression that echoed back my desperation as well as a bitter indulgence of sorrow. He wasn't going to do anything, though at least seemed to be regretful over his assumed decision, which is much more than what I could say for the rest of the savage tribe.

A small, unbidden noise that sounded like a whine escaped my throat when I felt Roger jerk my hair down so hard that it caused me to fall to the jungle floor, soft with layers of tumbled, dead vegetation in front of him. He let go. Roger looked at me a bit longer before a wild grin spread across his face, the first implication of any emotion that I had seen in him this morning.

"Well here we are, Lydia," He spoke, his voice low with spite as he tossed his spear behind him, his other hand feeling the edge of his belt, pulling something out from behind. Something that I had failed to notice from before. And it took me a moment longer to realize that it was Jack's knife.

What the hell was he doing with that?

And why hadn't Jack noticed it missing? He would never part with it… and furthermore, they needed it to slice their captured pig's throat. He would surely notice it soon_. Real soon_. Some of the bewilderment must have leaked from my face, because something akin to dark amusement twisted Roger's mouth. "He won't realize that it's missing soon enough. It's more than enough time… I can be quick."

I looked up at him, my fingers clawing into the moist ground, my toes dug into the soft soil. The adrenaline pumped through my body at his words, my eyes widened at his insinuation, but in that moment, I felt my mind empty, my body became tense. This was life or death and I had to make a choice.

"I've always wanted to feel the insides of—"Roger started to speak as his hand delved further towards the knife.

Before he finished his sentence, the wind had been knocked out of him. The world spun and his vision failed to give him a steady view of the world as the very girl that was crumpled at his feet moments ago sprung up, flinging leaves whilst doing so, had tackled him.

I didn't want to wait to know what he wanted to feel the insides of…

Unfortunately, Roger was only dazed for a much shorter time than I had anticipated. As I made my way on top of him, I steadied the knife between my knees, using it to shear off my constraints. They came off with an audible snap just as Roger's breath steadily came back, refilling his lungs. I made a quick grab for the knife, tearing it from his weakened grasp, inadvertently slicing the side of his bare midriff in the process. It was only a light scratch, but it already began to seep crimson. The rancid smell of blood filled the air.

The breath came so fast that my lungs began to hurt. My heart thundered in my ears as I gripped his knife over him. I hesitated. _I wasn't really going to hurt him, was I?_

My insides felt the clash of conviction at the thought of it… even if he was a _murderer_. Roger's face twisted into a beet red as he used my moment of reluctance, successfully pushing me off of him with a venomous growl. His strength quickly returned as did his homicidal anger. I turned to run further into the jungle. Just then, I felt him lurch forwards and gripped my left calf just as I made my start. I fell headlong, my elbows painfully making sharp contact with the ground. I cried out as the knife sprang from my hand, falling between the twisted, visible roots of a nearby tree. My eyes followed it pathetically, making note that it landed right next to a clump of bright flowers of blue.

Itchy, swollen, deceitful blue.

My memory caught up with me of the innocent looking bloom at my pool, my mind began to race as Roger clawed his way up my body. I grunted and struggled as much as I could, slowing the advance of his iron grip, becoming more and more painfully tight, as if he were trying to cut of my circulation. I began to kick, snarl, and shriek like the island's swine caught in a snare, as I tore my way closer to the mesmerizing blooms.

I reached out towards them; my finger barely grazing the side of a petal, its seductive solution that layered its frame stung my flesh. I winced, though only stretched even further. I heard Roger cackle behind me, the amusement of a lunatic that was having a great deal of fun, while simultaneously enraged with his victim.

I used his brief moment of lax to make a final reach, a final stretch of my arm muscles towards the flowers and ensnared its blooms, crushing it beneath my open palm before ruthlessly pulling its roots from the ground. I heard it protest softly as it ripped from the earth, but I felt its vile pain against my skin tenfold, bringing instant tears to my eyes as I whipped myself around, bringing me face to face with the dark skinned boy before plunging the flowers straight into his face.

My mind remained empty, my integrity presently dead as I pressed it ferociously against him, grating the burning poison into his vision with as much pressure that I could muster. All the while it continued to scald my hand, though my pumping adrenaline caused it to feel only increasingly numb as I wriggled from Roger's grasp.

What came from Roger's mouth was an upheaval that I would never forget. It was of the same caliber as Piggy's scream to get our attention before he had been forever silenced. A scream of such intensity and pain, it was even more startling than a dying pig's shriek. He scratched at his eyes, drawing blood, falling away from me, now occupied within his own world of agony to give me any more notice.

Without another glance in his direction, I threw the vile flowers from my throbbing palm, made a grab for the fallen knife, and plunged into the deeper depths of the jungle. Its grasping foliage received me back with open arms into its dark threshold.

I ran, not perceiving where I was going or of anything around me. I simply fled for the sake of fleeing. A sick feeling of shock curled within my stomach and I wanted to do nothing but tremble and cry for the next half hour… yet my instincts were on fire at the moment and such a comfort was currently out of the question. As my feet pounded against the jungle floor, I barely heeded the squeals of a pig and the distant cries of the hunters as I passed by, still a good distance from them. Time seemed to stretch endlessly as I spent the majority of my while and energy running, skittishly so, releasing the energy of my fear and hatred as it scalded deep within my gut. Soon enough I found that the day had quickly been slipping by the time that I finally came to a stop and had emerged from the creepers, the other end of the island.

My gaze quickly latched onto the piles of leaves and sticks, damaged and abandoned shelters. None of them were left standing, a grim reminder of what we once sought to be. I walked leisurely now, my heels reveling in the supple softness of the sand as I searched the broken shelters, trying to find one in particular.

My memory served me poorly, for I dug behind a few before I found the correct one, where I had half-heartedly buried one of the hunter's spears several days ago to be rid of it. Now it seemed to be a far more valuable asset than before as I gripped the smoothed wood in my good hand, reviving it from its shallow grave. The dried brown blood that painted its hilt no longer bothered me like it would have. I gripped it tightly.

Quickly looking around, I ran to the ocean and nearly toppled over into the tide, plunging my festering hand into the stinging saltiness. I cried, feeling warm tears down my cheeks as I rubbed away at the flower's horrible sap. My hand shook violently as I surveyed it, bringing it out of the water. The skin of my hand was an angry red and alarmingly swollen. I cradled my raw flesh within the cloth of my tattered dress for a moment before I gingerly picked up the knife and raced back towards the creepers. It wasn't safe to linger out in the open, especially here… This now felt more like a cemetery. One that buried all of our former hopes and dreams of the outside world as well as the commemoration of those that were now gone.

Jack's knife was still in my injured hand, silently reminding me of its agony, as I surveyed the imposing, contorted trees, wondering at what my next exploit would need to be. After a moment of a disorganized fluster of thoughts, I resolved to climb a tree in order to keep from being seen. I had done so several times within my childhood. My family was well-off enough to own a respectable amount of acreage, which included a number of decent climbing trees. Back in that now strange world of calmness and subtle beauty that caused my heart to ache. I turned my gaze back to my reality.

The twisted, strange trees of the island matched with their sprawling limbs made it easier to hoist myself up. It was difficult to do so whilst holding my newly acquired possessions, so the process was much slower than what I normally could have accomplished. By the time I found a comfortable spot on a sturdy branch that offered me a view of a portion of the ground without being so easily seen, I relaxed, catching my breath.

I closed my eyes for a moment, reliving the last moments of my revolting day, mentally mapping the island and the places that I could go… and where Ralph might be... The end result wasn't too impressive, seeing as we were on a hopelessly small island.

I sighed, knowing that I sounded more irritated than frightened. I was the latter.

Trying to focus, I brought Jack's knife against the edge of my spear and began to sharpen its blunt point. Whoever had fashioned this spear had done a poor job at it. With my aim for detail, it was substantially better by the time the color of sunset had bathed the island in its vibrant golden hues. I gripped my new spear, poising it upon the branch next to me so that I leaned slightly against it. I watched the sun sink lower into the horizon, listening and hearing nothing out of the ordinary jungle noises. It wasn't until the glowing, yellow orb had nearly been swallowed up by the sea that I finally realized my ravishing hunger and thirst.

I carefully made my way back down the tree and landed softly upon the ground, crouching slightly amidst the vegetation, listening for savages. Hearing nothing, I made my way as quickly and silently through the jungle as I could manage, envisioning the fresh coolness of my secret pool. Now my throat really did feel like dry sand as I drew closer to its edge, night beginning to ease into its allotted time, though it was still light enough so that I could see everything.

I almost ran to the edge as I brought my mouth to the pool, drinking deeply and greedily, trying not to put my entire face into it. I gently laid down my spear and Jack's knife before spying a clump of something gathered near one of the trees. Curious, I left the pool's side and tried to meld as quietly as I could into the tree's shadow before realizing that it was a pile of gathered fruit and nuts. Without thinking as to why they were there, I grabbed handfuls and stuffed them into my mouth, half swallowing and half chewing the mass. I was only aware of my empty stomach and how much it cried for substance and not of the creeping noises behind me.

After finally swallowing what I had, but before I could reach for more, I felt a painful heaviness crash into my body as I was rapidly pinned to the ground. The hard warmth and human sounds of breath and grunts told me that it was one of the boys. I cried out, flailing my arms at him, before he brought the edge of his spear up tightly against my throat, almost closing off my gasp as I now clutched at the smoothness of his spear where his hands held it in place. I released a helpless breath, unable to move as he straddled my midriff.

It was still for a moment and all I could hear was raspy breathing as he hovered over me. The growing shadows didn't permit me a clear view of his face.

"I… I don't want to hurt you. But I will if you try to run or hurt me," he explained with a blunt, almost wearisome voice. Despite its attempt at being unreadable, I immediately recognized it.

"Ralph!" I cried, though it sounded more like a squeak as my throat was still being compressed.

Ralph was still for a moment and I could barely make out his face within the growing night, but I swore that he leaned in closer to me, no doubt confused at my newly painted face.

"Lydia?" he said, still in a questioning tone. I nodded as fervently as I could when I felt the weight of his spear being lifted from my neck, before remembering that he probably couldn't see me very well.

"Yea…" I croaked. My throat was constricted with the flood of relieved tears as I sat up.

"I thought… I was afraid that… you…" I couldn't finish, couldn't bring the horrible thoughts past my lips as I sobbed, pressing my tear streaked face against his bare chest, trembling against him. Ralph removed his weight from me as his arms brought me close, holding me. I felt his disheveled, hot breath against my matted hair, his thumbs roughly tracing my shoulder blades in soothing circles.

"Lydia," Ralph spoke against my tangled hair. One of his hands traveled a bit lower down my back. "Why are you crying?" His voice sounded a little worried and startled, probably not knowing how to adequately deal with a girl's tears—unsure if they were over something serious or trivial.

"I'm ok, Ralph," _At least as ok as I could possibly be in this hellish situation…_ I said, biting my lip, forcing myself to exert control over my girlish emotions. "I'm just… relieved. That's all."

"Oh," Ralph said, though still sounded a bit confused.

The distant thrashing of a pig racing through the underbrush a respectable distance from us was what shook us free from the distraction of our reunion and back into the growing sounds of the night. Ralph looked over at me, his eyes scrutinized my face.

"Lydia… what did they… _do_ to you? And how did you get away?" His voice was considerably softer, a murmur amidst the jungle, yet loud enough for my ears. The recent scare forced us to be more discreet. Suddenly remembering my new mask of their savage paint, I felt heat flood my cheeks and consecutively remembered that my blush would go unnoticed beneath the paint. It felt strangely comforting. If only it would work for my words as well. I looked back up at Ralph, at his tanned jaw and sun-streaked locks, and felt sick to my stomach at the thought of relieving my tale to him. Him and his unmarred face.

I know he'll think _differently_ of me… I just know it… And I don't think that I could bear to see him look at me like that. Like one of _them_.

"They—"I started, knowing that I couldn't get away with being silent.

"They made me wear their paint. Like Samneric." I took a breath, trying to loosen my slowly constricting, dry throat, still forcing myself to face Ralph while I crafted my speech, which I was quite poor at.

"I got away this morning… when Roger tried to… hurt me." I struggled to shorten the pauses where I combed my brain for more suitable word choices so as not to alarm my listener, while also sticking as close to the truth as I could. Father always said that I was a shoddy liar. I agreed with him. It's not as if I had much practice with the art before, like most students with their teachers at school when it came to their missing work.

And I wasn't _lying_, I reminded myself; I just was leaving most of the vile things out. The things that weren't important for our survival… and things that Ralph was better off not knowing about.

He looked at me, though I couldn't tell if he believed me entirely or not. _Oh well_, I thought. _He's going to have to be satisfied with that, because I don't feel inclined to speak further about it. _I lowered my head, facing the dark forest floor as Ralph grew even more still.

"Come here," Ralph spoke quietly, dead leaves swished as he stood. He turned around, not looking back to see if I was following as he made it to the pool of water. He crouched carefully at the edge of the water. I followed and stooped down next to him before taking my seat. Our shoulders touched. Ralph casually took my hand that was closest to him, which also happened to be the wounded one, causing me to flinch aggressively at the assault of pain from the simple pressure.

Ralph's face jerked in my direction at my reaction. "What's wrong?"

I took his hand with my good one and opened his compliant palm before placing my injured hand over his. "I grabbed something poisonous earlier today." My voice was calm and steady. Ralph was mute as he lowered my hand gingerly into the water. The coolness felt good. I closed my eyes briefly as the relief consoled my frame. He turned from me as he took the tattered remains of his shirt lying next to him and began to rip it into strips. I watched him as he took the long pieces of fabric, brushing out the dirt before washing it as best as he could in the pool water. He took my hand gently between his as he began to wrap some of the strips about my hand. It was rather firm against my skin as he swathed it in a particular way that kept it from sliding, even looping it once around my wrist.

I sat, dumbly mesmerized by the sight of his concentration and busy fingers. When he was done, I inspected it closely, already feeling rather moved by his simple action. "How did you know how to do that?" I wondered aloud.

"Do what?" Ralph said.

"Wrap it like that so it doesn't come loose." I looked at him expectedly, feeling naïvely childish, asking him mundane questions. I thought I detected the corners of Ralph's smile as he leaned back slightly, his hands on the ground.

"Well I guess it's because I got injured a lot. I did rugby, swimming, and track at school." Ralph said. His face inclined towards the sky. Some stars were beginning to blink into existence. The half-moon also began to relinquish more of its pale light as the night grew darker. I rubbed my arm with my good hand, feeling chilled.

"I hate it when its night," I spoke sporadically as I moved closer to Ralph, grateful for his comforting body heat despite the mugginess within the air. "I think what I hate most about it… is that we completely rely on the sun as our only light source, like we have no choice. I know that must sound weird..." I lowered my gaze thinking of streetlights and lamps—silly, comforting sources of light—things that I took for granted.

Ralph sat cross legged beside me. "I know what you mean. We have next to no control." He took the remains of his wet shirt as he gently grasped my chin, bringing my face closer to him. I felt the warmth of a blush creeping over my face, anticipation heated my stomach, wondering at his intentions, though it was quickly smothered when I felt the wet dab of the cloth at my face, beginning to wipe away at my paint.

"Wait," I rested my hand on his forearm. I felt his arm still. "What if I leave the paint on?"

I could immediately tell that Ralph didn't like the idea. His body shifted agitatedly. "What…? Why would you do want to do that?"

I flushed madly as I quickly explained. "Well, you didn't recognize me at first. What if this will help when they come hunting for us? Maybe they won't recognize us straightaway, giving us time to make a run for it someplace else..."

"No, Lydia. It was dark and I wasn't entirely myself when I jumped you. I would have recognized you in the daytime."

A pause. "It's coming off." Ralph's voice was severe, almost reproachful. I frowned at the edge in his voice, wondering if there was more to his argument than what he was revealing to me.

"What's _wrong_ with you?" I felt my voice rising, unexpected anger lacing my tone, forgetting for a moment that we were now the prey of the island where discretion was our only lifeline. "Don't you understand that they're going to _murder_ _us_ next? They're out for blood and you don't want to take every necessary measure to live?" My face was red and I felt hot tears prick at the back of my eyes. I ignored the way that my voice shook as did my body. I was _terrified_. Absolutely terrified. And this was the first time since finding Ralph that it leaked from my blackened nerves.

Ralph looked back at me; the growing moonlight revealed the angles of his face as he scrutinized my reaction. "That's right," he spoke calmly back. "I'm not willing to take every measure, as you say. I am not willing to become like them."

_Damn Ralph and his inflexible morals and rules_.

It was going to be harder than I thought just to keep him breathing another day. My troubled mind only worried more when I heard his response. Quickly formulating a counter, I responded, though with less self-assurance than Ralph. "I understand that Ralph… we won't become like them, we just need to do what is necessary to live."

I saw Ralph scowl his disapproval as he raised his makeshift washcloth again, though paused before it touched my face. His silent, dark eyes finding mine… asking, pleading. I grunted softly at him, already feeling that I'd lost the struggle when he gave me that look.

_When did he start persuading me by such _underhanded_ means?_ I thought with dark irritation.

"Fine," I voiced my disappointment as I crossed my arms tightly, like a petulant child. "I'll lose the mask… it probably just made me look horrible anyway." I kept my vexed, apprehensive eyes downcast as he continued to wipe away the stains, the signs of savagery upon my skin. The water ran in rivulets down my cheeks as he applied more water.

"That's not possible," Ralph murmured softly. I pursed my lips tightly, refusing to be consoled by his attempt to sway my curdled mood, despite the fact that my body relaxed towards him as he continued to wipe and dap at my face with tenderness—a particular touch that I missed most. When he was done, he dropped the wet rags on the ground and leaned in to peck the tip of my nose.

"There you are, Lydia," He spoke in a hushed, impish tone. It almost sounded like a parent that had just found their child in a game of hide-and-seek. I couldn't help but crack an unintentional small smile at him.

"Even better," he remarked upon seeing my smile, only causing it to grow. Pleased, he kissed my forehead. I softly giggled like the silly girls that I used to mock at school when he continued to leave behind feather-light kisses all over random areas of my face. I tried to push him back, to make him stop, but he only pulled me in close, tight against his skin. He stopped the kisses, but continued to hold me, as if I were going to evaporate into the island at any moment. The thought made me uneasy and forced me to think of our current circumstance.

"Ralph."

He made a noise of acknowledgment, though didn't move his head where his face nuzzled tightly within the crook of my neck. I felt him take a deep breath and the tickle of the warm air as he slowly exhaled, causing the tiny hairs of my skin to rise slightly. Goosebumps prickled over the area and the same warmth from before was unabashedly rekindled.

"We need to get to the cave. We shouldn't be out in the open." I tried to sound like the adult now, though it was difficult when his hold over me refused to loosen.

"They never hunt at night," Ralph spoke; his disarmingly calm voice infuriated me.

"Well there's a first time for everything. These savages aren't very predictable." I thought of mentioning that they killed Piggy by means of a boulder as a blunt, cruel example, but bit my tongue before the beginnings of it formulated. It was still too fresh in our minds, too painful to be brought out in the open. The image of his cracked skull over the rocks caused me to shiver with a violence that was usually reserved for frigid temperatures. Ralph must have felt it, for his hands slid down the contours of my back. A strangled noise escaped my throat at the feel of his hands—thick desire now pulsed through my veins. Its presence surprised me, given our situation.

I pulled away from him, trying to catch my breath as I stood up. Ralph followed me, though he lacked the panicked alertness that had attached itself upon me, like that of a bloodsucking leech, since Roger's attempt on my life. My fingers curled about his forearm, feeling the muscles tighten beneath his skin as he followed me, silent and somewhat forlorn as the shadows of the cave shrouded our forms. We didn't go too far, though stayed somewhere between the line of where the filtered moonlight met with the nearly crushing shadows of the cave. Ralph sat down first, the same weariness that I detected within his voice earlier now evident within his limbs as he backed into the side of the cave, leaning. He pitched a careless glance over his shoulder towards the entrance of the cave.

I watched him while slowly kneeling in front of him, studying his profile. I drew closer, the strings of society no longer had a grip on my behavior—whether it was proper or not—not when the very possibility of death loomed so near. So tangible. My eyes drank him in; observing the way that the golden strands of his hair curled slightly at the edges as it hung over his forehead and past his ears, and took careful note of how his dark eyes quietly surveyed the jungle, at how its creepers grew tangled and almost woven near the mouth of the cave.

My gaze lowered to the gentle curvature of his collarbone as it protruded from his skin and lower still down the subtle indents and curves of his body, down to where his worn shorts hung loosely over his hips. I felt my cheeks burn at the delicate trail of hair from his navel as it continued down, disappearing into the edge of his shorts. His leather belt was still intact, at least, though it was dusty and slightly cracked at the edges with the abuse of the island.

A knot continued to tighten within my chest as I concluded the careful scrutiny of my companion, quickly retracing my visual trail back up to his eyes, startled to see that he was now staring directly at me—his eyes now such a dark shade of cobalt, they almost looked menacing. The knot tightened even further, almost to the point of pain as we continued to stare at each other. Not speaking. Motionless.

I could only hear the sound of my pitiful breath and pulse as it pounded within my ears. I felt my eyes prickle painfully and the feeling of wetness overwhelmed them. I fought the urge to turn away—the instinct to hide my emotion from Ralph. Instead, I continued to face him, ignoring my tears as they streaked my face, dropping silently onto my lap.

_I am so scared of losing him_.

The realization of my bizarre assessment of him further constricted my throat. The odd feeling within my chest tightened at the thought of him being taken away from me, from this world in the same manner that we had already lost Simon and Piggy. The feeling grew into an irrepressible weight, crushing me, threatening to crack my rips, to squeeze my vulnerable flesh.

_God, it hurt so bad_… I didn't want to say that I loved him. That was impossible. Not at our age. We're only teenagers. The voice of the reasonable adult rang once more in my head, though was quickly squelched by the sound of a rogue wind as it tore at the creepers just outside our cave. We jumped at the disturbance like the terrified, inconsequential prey we were.

The feeling coagulated the air between us, forced me forward. My knees, now planted on each side of his legs, scraped harshly against the cave floor as I shifted my weight. I reached out until the tips of my fingers met with the outline of his face, touched the curve of his cheekbones, down to the slope beneath his jaw. Ralph stilled, his breath came harsh as he watched.

My fingers drew down his chest until they came down to his stomach, now feather light. I felt his skin quiver as he moved marginally away from my touch. He must be sensitive there. I felt my lips twitch with the amusement that bubbled up beneath my chest. I slid my face closer and brushed my lips against his. He moved, only marginally, beneath me. His lips were now dry and cracked— currently rougher than mine. I claimed them again, firmer this time, and he responded.

His touch became less unsure as we progressed. I felt something warm and wet spring between our mouths and I touched it with the tip of my tongue; the unexpected metallic tang of blood overwhelmed my perception. Alarmed, I broke the kiss and moved my head back until I could see him. The moonlight was vague, but it was enough. Ralph looked back at me. Dark crimson trickled from his cracked lip, staining his flesh. Feeling peculiarly abashed for what I did to him, I leaned forward, slowly licking the trail of blood from his skin, as if it had never been there. A strangled, quiet groan escaped him.

My eyes flickered to the entrance of the cave, suddenly hyperaware of how limited our time alone together might be. My breath quickened, almost in a panicked frenzy as I brought my gaze back to his. His skin. His scent. All things that I might never again experience.

With animal purpose, I brought my hands down to the leather of his belt, trying to work the buckle apart. My good hand was doing most of the work. I heard Ralph's breathe hitch and his hands gently covered mine, stopping my progress.

"What are you doing?" his question came in unsteady breaths. A harsh blush swamped my cheeks as I brought my eyes up to his.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I tried to sound irritable, but my voice was soft and shaking.

"W—"he attempted to speak, though it came out in a rough, disgruntled whisper. He tried again,"—we can't. It's wrong."

I licked my lips, relishing the taste of Ralph that they still held, trying to banish the taste of his blood that had also remained. "But you want to," I stated, my voice was nearly inaudible as I lowered one of hands slightly from his belt and in-between his legs, satisfied at the slightly hardened response as my hand passed over him. I pushed my hand a little harder against him as I leaned forward, allowing my lips to barely touch the base of his ear.

"We don't know what's going to happen to us tomorrow… or even the next hour. We might never get to again…" My stupid emotions threatened, though I pushed them back, repressed them into the darkness of my thoughts. "We might not ever make it." It hurt to speak those words. Words that burned within my mind… burned with my cold acceptance that we might not ever leave this island.

My hope had already been doused.

"We might…" Ralph replied weakly, though I could already hear the loss within his voice. I felt his hands move away from mine, though it felt as if they simply fell away, defeated. The side of my face touched his as my fingers found the front of his belt and began to unloop the end from the buckle. I felt something small and wet touch our cheeks and it took me a moment to realize that it had originated from Ralph and not me. I retreated my face from his, took one look at his slightly damp eyes, and a soft choke of a sob escaped my throat—feeling the burn of misery at the possibility that I was the one that had finally snuffed his out as well, as small as it may have dwindled since we had last seen each other. And in that brief moment, I felt every bit as cruel as Jack.

His belt was released. Not a moment of hesitancy passed before my fingers were upon the front of his shorts, releasing the buttons, exposing the dingy white of his undergarments. My fingers trembled slightly as they hooked over the edge of the fabric. I took a steady breath, gathering whatever audacity I had left within me before pulling, revealing the sharp indents of his hip bones. Ralph's hands strained against the ground, the tendons tightening within his arms as he eased himself slightly from the ground as I slipped them down the curve of his backside.

I stopped pulling them when they were down to his knees and left them there, bringing myself closer to him, straddling his thighs. I felt his hands skim up the sides of my legs, pushing the thin material of my underdress up, bunching at my waist. Our movements became hurried and desperate. When our desperate lips mashed, our tongues pushed against the other, and our teeth clicked, I could only taste loneliness and anguish. I knew that we both suffered and I knew that we were both afraid.

His hands gripped at my hips with little of the tenderness that they had once gripped me the last time. I only pushed aside the fabric of my undergarments, not even bothering to remove them as I brought my body towards his. He slowly pushed into me. I grit my teeth through the pain, still unused to him, though the sting didn't hold the same vicious bite as before. My arms stuck to his sweaty back as I brought our bodies close. Despite the uncomfortable way that our skin seemed to fuse together in the heat, my body was soothed to the nearly electric thrill pulsing through my body. He paused once he was all the way in.

Our ragged breaths filled the empty air. My eyes refused to meet his. They lowered to the ground as I experimentally rotated my hips. It caused both of us to shiver. I felt Ralph's hands lowered from my waist once again; his thumbs pressed almost bruisingly against my hipbones as he began to move beneath me. Sweltering skin slid smoothly against the other. Our bodies fit beautifully like that of a puzzle as our hips and thighs moved in a synchronized pattern—a slow and easy pace that was comfortable for us both.

After a time, I began to grip his shoulders for leverage, though my eyes continued to fix upon the shadows of the cave. They seemed to dart, to move, quietly witnessing the sin that we were committing for the second time. Jack's sudden, unbidden voice encircled my mind. I took in a harsh breath, my chest constricting with instant ignominy as I squeezed my eyes shut, blanketing my world in shadow. It was where I belonged.

"Lydia… Lydia, look at me." I heard Ralph groan, breathless.

I didn't want to. I knew that the instant I did, I would regret. Instead, I dug my forehead into the crook of his neck. My eyelids relaxed, though they still refused to open. I focused instead on the feeling building inside my gut as it churned and scorched. I forced aside the humanness of what we were doing and absorbed only on the physical—on its ability to make me forget. Momentarily.

Only I didn't long for momentary, my mind mocked me. I wanted to drink Lethe's sweet waters. I wanted to bathe within it. I wanted what I had lost.

Again, I forced these thoughts away until there was only utter blackness staring back at me once again. Ralph's movements became frantic and we suddenly reached that level where it felt as if we couldn't move fast enough. It was an intoxicating mixture of pain and ecstasy as he thrust harder and harder. I released a choked whimper as I dragged my nails down his sides, leaving behind deep, red marks upon overheated skin.

Then, quick as a flash, Ralph pushed me against the ground. I barely registered our new position, even as I felt my back sink into the centimeter thick layer of cool mud that lay near the mouth of the cave. The sound of frantic skin meeting skin filled the air as did our wild, needy breaths. This action forced my eyes open and for a moment I only saw the barrenness of the rock's cavity_. _

_Jack was right_… my horrible thoughts pierced through my mind, stinging me like the island's poisonous flowers as I forced them upon Roger. _This is a fuck_… And it was in that moment that I knew—in this moment, we were no better than even the island's pigs. Pigs that mindlessly rutted in the mud, within the shadow of undergrowth.

It was then, after hearing Ralph's sharp gasp as it shattered my contemplations and feeling his body beginning to tense, did mine peak. My legs tightened, almost bruisingly against his body; my back arched against the mud-infested ground as I was harshly enveloped within my ecstatic high. The same that had gripped me before. The wonderful numbness washed over my frame and for a moment I could barely even recall my own name as the bliss throbbed through my veins. I vaguely felt the moaning Ralph as he reached his own release; his heavy body over mine as the after-moment washed over our frames, like the pacifying embrace of cool water.

There was nothing. No words. Just the sound of our heavy breathing as our now slothful bodies regained normalcy. Ralph's clutch over me became gentler as he relinquished my hips. His fingers grazed up my sides as I felt his nose poking at and nuzzling against the sensitive flesh at my throat. I smiled lazily at the affectionate gesture and reciprocated with my fingers within his hair, stroking his disheveled locks, holding his head against me.

We stayed like that for what seemed like several minutes until our bodies finally disconnected—a near afterthought it seemed, though Ralph quickly came back to the side of my still body after adjusting his shorts. I turned, facing the mouth of the cave as he snuggled up behind me, his chest pressed close against my back as his arm draped in an almost protective manner over my front. I touched his arm. His warm breath evened out to that of sleep; I felt the hot air from his exhales against the back of my scalp, slowly lulling my mind and body.

We slept, still half within the mud as it absorbed into clothing and trickled down tainted skin, mixing with perspiration—the visible smear of our deed now prominently displayed upon tangled bodies. The pattern of smudged fingerprints and blossoming bruises marked our flesh, softly humming its song of innocent betrayal to any that would lend a wandering ear.

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	10. Compromise

**Chapter 10 – Compromise**

**A/N:** _Wow... my tenth chapter. I'm so excited to have finally made it this far! A large thank you to everyone that has left a review, favorited, and/or alerted me! And even to those that are simply reading my updates. You are all so wonderful! (:_

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That night was filled with torturous visions of Simon. His bright gaze bore into my skull, instigating the extraction of dark, clammy conviction. Something that lived and thrived beneath my skin. It was a monster; eating me from the inside out. Painfully tearing to be free beneath the constraint of human bone, tendons and blood. My screams went unfulfilled. Unheard. Opening my mouth, I couldn't even draw breath as the darkness swallowed me whole. He knew. He knew exactly what dark creature I would soon become. Like Hades' Iron Maiden, I was the innocent goddess of spring before she was transformed into the hollow-eyed, dark queen of the Underworld.

After the attempt to move my limbs, now entwined within the island's creepers, like chains, dragging me down into its suffocating pool of filth. It felt as if the island's ground was melting… being dragged into the fiery pit that awaited us all. Only Simon stood still while we sunk, carelessly holding a single flower from his meadow between white fingers. As if he was attending a disgraceful funeral. The pitiful, unblinking expression continued to observe. Ever mournful and knowing.

Simon's beautiful gaze found mine, the tenderness suddenly gone. His pale, almost luminescent brow crinkled in the slightest. "_It was_ _you_," He mouthed. Tears stung my eyes at the accusation.

"No, Simon! I'm so sorry!" I wanted to scream, wanted so badly to release the diseased portion of by body, but doing so would leave me so weak, so empty. It had already laced its way through my heart. Simon shook his head in the slightest, his expression turning once more towards angelic sorrow that it had held before, shredding at my barely thriving soul.

"_All because of you_…" he murmured softly and yet I could hear his voice as clear as the morning church bells on Sunday.

This time, my cry really did escape. It resounded amidst the dark creepers as they continued to curl possessively about my sun stained limbs, covetously claiming me as its own. It sounded horrible—a noise that I had never heard myself render before—a scream that chaperoned death. Desperate and spine-tingling. I tore at my constraints, aiming to rip them apart with my teeth and nails if I had to.

Simon's unfazed gaze half-heartedly surveyed my struggle before trailing down one of the stray creepers that was crushing me the hardest. It secured snugly about my waist, almost pressurized to the point where it may or may not simply decide to snap me in two. Breath was heavy and dangerous; my wet eyes followed the creeper's trail, much like Simon had and was shocked to find it also attached to a familiar boy with golden hair.

"No, no, no, no," I panicked; attempting desperately to tear at the chain about my waist, the same one that was dragging Ralph down with me. The only one that held him captive to the island. I cried. I blubbered hard with the realization as I continued to tear and claw at the only thing that denied his freedom, but it wouldn't give. It was as hard and steadfast as steel.

"NO!" I shrieked once more. Ralph lifted his weary head from the mud at my protest; half of his unmarred face now coated with the island's offending grim. His dark eyes looked lost and somewhat dull—as if the life and fire behind them was slowly dying out, fading like a long forgotten, lone ember. When his eyes found mine, a genuine smile graced his pale lips. Some of the warmth returned to his gaze, though not enough to keep the fire within burning.

I watched with widened eyes as he scooted closer to me, either uncaring or not noticing the grotesque cage that was now claiming my body and soul. Where the island touched me, black slime seemed to ooze from my skin—the stench and oiled image of sin.

"No," I croak, my voice now scratchy after all the strenuous screaming I'd been doing. "Don't you dare come any closer!" I tried to move away, to gain excruciating distance from him, but the creepers held me rooted to the ground, slowly drawing my body deeper into the world unknown. I could immediately tell that the creepers wanted him too… they strained and swelled in his direction, attempting to coax and stroke the warm, naïve flesh with tender deceit.

He reached me, but I found that I could no longer protest. I was too absorbed with the intoxicating effect that his presence still held for me. Even as the creepers that held me began to tighten their grip over him, that innocent affection that he still held for me refused to be erased from his smile… those dark cobalt eyes as they continued to stare straight into mine. He reached over to touch my face, to stroke it, entirely unmindful of the stain of the black secretion as it seeped between his fingers, forever marking him for a place I knew he didn't belong.

A strangled, pitiful noise escaped my disgusting throat as I shamefully pulled him in closer, pressing my flesh against his. The beautiful warmth consoled my frigid body. I didn't want to be alone. I was selfish—so utterly selfish. Ralph, still seemingly oblivious to our dire situation, was all too foolishly eager to reciprocate the action, to pull me into his embrace as the painful chains encircled and locked our destitute forms.

He whispered three little words to me. Words that hurt. Words that I never wanted to hear from him. They were killing me… and in turn, slowly killing him. I felt only the indifference of reality as we were finally shut off from the world, pulled with one final heave into the ground where permanent darkness and silence reigned.

**…**

I bolted. My lungs filled with sweet, life bearing oxygen the moment heavy lids sprang open. My body was covered in uncomfortable moisture and it took me long, sluggish minutes to realize exactly where I was. My pulse continued to thrum with the horrors of the strange and all-too-real feeling of the nightmare. Hugging my frame tightly with shaking limbs, I forced my body to calm, taking deep, measured breaths. It felt like poison was leaking through my veins—the familiar possession of dark fear. With my jaw clinched, I brought my knees close to my chest, pressing the smooth side of gritted teeth against the hard skin of my knees.

Vaguely, I could feel Ralph stir against the lateral of my leg. He groaned softly, still in the world of dreams, as he pressed himself more tightly against my side. I would have ignored it and continued in my pursuit for complete silence had the unexpected touch not burned so alarmingly.

Startled, I relinquished the tight hold over myself as I turned towards the slumbering blond. Splattered, dried mud was caked onto his golden skin. He was filthy, as was I, though I should've expected as much since we practically lounged in the wet earth the entire night. It held the appearance of black slime and my stomach lurched, bringing back instant sensations from the nightmare that I wanted to forget.

I brought my hesitant hand to Ralph's skin once more, praying and hoping that it had just been my overactive imagination. Flinching, my cool skin pressed against his burning arm. Yes, it was definitely there—an unnatural elevation in temperature.

"_Oh, God_. Please no…" A soft plea escaped my throat. Dread began to pelt my skin thicker and more substantial the more I moved to test his skin with the back of my hand. Everywhere I touched was the same unnatural fire that ate flesh.

Seconds passed as I became progressively still, watching as he began to rouse from sleep. Lifting his body, weighted eyelids slid open, revealing slightly glassy eyes as he studied the cave wall, no doubt slowly remembering everything. The same routine that I've been through almost every morning on this island. Remembering that we weren't home… and probably never would be again.

Breath caught in my throat at feeling Ralph eyes upon me. A lone, affectionate corner of his mouth was lifted in a half smile. That same carefree, yet somehow profound smile that was reminiscent of his nightmare counterpart. I bit my lip, hiding the internal shudder as it trickled through my skin. The smile was quickly abandoned the moment that he raised himself up. With a slightly crinkled brow, his eyes wandering and lost for a moment, as if immediately detecting that something wasn't right.

I watched, still feeling helpless, as his face suddenly paled. With immediate, disquieting purpose, he scrambled as fast as he could to the mouth of the cave and into the nearest bushes where I could hear the sounds of retching.

I hadn't even realized that my own hand was fiercely covering my mouth, petrified that I might reveal the panic racing through my veins.

_Not this_… This could not be happening.

Gathering what little fortitude that remained, I gathered myself, forcing what I hoped was a neutral expression over myself before finally heading straight back out into the real world. By the time I reached the mouth of the cave, the sounds of sickness began to cease. My attention was immediately on Ralph and his slightly trembling body as he moved away from the bush and towards the pool to rinse out his mouth, carefully avoiding my searching gaze.

I paused with caution, watching as the water dripped past his pale lips. My own pursed tightly before speaking. "You're not well…" I whispered, failing in keeping any note of anxiety from leaking into my tone. It was there, visible behind my transparent attempt at calmness.

Dark blue eyes appraised me. They hardened in the slightest, though I didn't miss the way that they remained somewhat clouded as he stood too quickly. "I'll be fine," he muttered.

I dropped to my knees, hands immediately cupping his burning cheeks. Thumbs grazed over the rosy flesh as my vision blurred slightly. "Get some rest," I whisper. An idea had already been forming in my head; one that tasted vile… and yet it was something that I felt had to be done.

He looked like he was about to protest, so I pressed my lips firmly against his. A bit too hard. I pulled back quickly, feeling my mouth tighten. A few birdcalls echoed in the distance, and the sound of exotic insects filled the silence as Ralph's fever glazed eyes connected with mine, trying hard to focus.

"You rest while I get food," I said, much more quickly and with more vigor as I stood, maneuvering to prevent an argument. He surprisingly didn't protest, only glowered back with an unreadable expression, although it looked eerily thoughtful as I made a grab for my spear, still resting precariously by the pool. The sight of Jack's knife next to it tugged at my insides. With more caution than I wanted to admit that the situation deserved, I picked it up and tossed it to the back of the cave. I barely heard the clatter before my eyes briefly grazed across a mess of blond hair, mindful not to look at his eyes, heavily shadowed by his growing fringe.

Even as I turned towards the tangle of the island's harsh tresses, leaving behind an unsettlingly silent Ralph, vague guilt pounded with every heartbeat as distinct as the beating of the heels of my feet against the forest floor.

The morning heat continued to roast the island. The sun's rays sought vulnerable flesh to consume—whether pig or human. I kept to the slightly cooler shadows that the trees offered, avoiding the blinding, hot sand of the beaches. I shivered with remembrance of how the beach's shoreline used to be filled with the sounds of boyish laughter and babbling. Now it was exclusively replaced with the ever constant thrum of insects and the tide. A lonely melody.

I walked carefully, while tension continued to devour my every movement. I was the hunted now.

The first stalwart formations of Castle Rock appeared to barely rise above the tree line, giving me amble warning of where exactly I was. I would stop every so often as I drew closer, listening and biding my time. Nothing came. Even the sounds of the carefree littluns seemed to have quieted somewhat. Usually they played their mindless games at this hour. However, they didn't seem to be doing much of that lately. Not when there was so much currently wrong with their world. They could probably sense it practically cascading from the agitated biguns.

I moved closer still until I could very faintly detect the sounds of human speech. Good. They were still there. The thought of Jack's tribe rummaging through the jungle in their hunters' guise caused a slight sweat to break over my brow. My suddenly slippery palms gripped the wood of my spear as I peered behind the tree currently hiding my form. The entrance into Castle Rock was being guarded as per usual. I could feel the blood pumping at a faster rate upon recognizing the two identical shades of dark blond, standing side by side, both loosely grasping their spears. Samneric.

Indecision befuddled my mind as my back was once again tightly aligned against the tree, the rough bark biting into my flesh where the tattered clothing failed to cover. _Should I or shouldn't I?_ Knuckles strained white upon my pathetic weapon as my vision of the forest floor distorted in the slightest. This was a stroke of luck, wasn't it? _Yes, of course it was!_ My mind argued. They were loyal to Ralph until they were forced to abandon him. Forced…? And yet… why did doubt flutter its revolting wings against my gut? Why was the idea of approaching them setting my nerves on edge?

The blunt end of my spear drove a deep grove into the earth before I snuck closer to the rocky entrance. Excessive creepers and the formations of the rock were sufficient in shielding me, but they were difficult to maneuver through.

Finally, I was at the closest hiding spot to the twins. As I crouched, my fingers curled around a random stone at my feet before tossing it before their path. It clattered lightly, but the noise immediately jerked their attention ahead.

"Sam… Eric…" I whispered as harshly as I could.

One of the twins lifted his eyes in my general direction, while the other glanced back briefly up Castle Rock. I locked eyes with him. He grabbed at his brother, forcing him to follow his line of sight. They exchanged a few whispered words before one of them left their post while the other stayed behind, keeping a close eye on the path behind.

I involuntarily felt my muscles stiffen as the twin approached my hidden spot, a reflex to sprint if need be.

"Lydia?" the twin spoke. His hastily painted face twisted slightly.

"Yes… it's me," I answered, feeling breathless with anxiety.

We waited for what seemed like a minute, quietly watching the other, wondering at uncertain intentions. My heart thudded heavily as I licked my dry lips, finally opening them to speak when I saw that he was making no movement to betray my presence to the rest of the tribe nearby.

"I—I need to know… what's going to happen," I mumbled.

The twin seemed to hesitate, while casting a cautionary glance over at his brother, who continued to watch the pathway. His relaxed posture was somewhat of a reassurance.

"Roger's furious…" the twin finally spoke, his voice cracked and I saw his fingertips twitch against his spear. Even speaking the name of his tormentor seemed to take a toll on the poor boy. But he continued. "What… did you _do_ to him? He looks bloody awful."

My throat tightened, remembering exactly what had happened. Every sensation of that moment came back in a flurry of haunting memory. How his murderous hands felt as they inched up my body, clawing at my flesh as if it were no more substantial than one of their hunted pigs. How his dark eyes gleamed excitedly at the prospect; a look that I had only seen a handful of times from Jack and Ralph since being on the island.

The twin swallowed thickly. I hadn't even realized that he had been watching me until I brought my reluctant gaze back toward his. "Well," he continued. "Whatever it was… it really set him off. He wants to do you in."

A soft snort escaped me. "That's no surprise. He's been wanting to for a while."

He hesitated, his dull eyes studying me for a moment longer before adding, "He's been sayin' things… That you're in league with the beast…" A sudden flush overcame his face before he could say more. Before I could ponder the fact that there was more to be said, I felt the heat of resentment pricking my mind.

"Don't tell me you actually believe it! He's talking bollocks! There is _no_ beast."

The twin nodded, though there was slowness within his gesture that left me with little confidence. "Well… what does Jack think of it all?" I couldn't resist the urge to practically spit his name into the rancid atmosphere.

"The Chief's planning a hunt for you…" The twin paused, seemingly ignoring my scowl at how he addressed him. "Well… for the both of you, I suppose."

"W-what's he going to do when he finds… us?" I hate the shaking softness that intruded my tone, but it couldn't be helped. My entire body felt weak at this point, hating the unspoken implications and the turn of this scant conversation.

The twin shrugged, though I noticed tenseness within his bare shoulders, giving away that there was more to the indifference being convey. "Beats me… All I know is what Roger wants. He's made it no secret that he wants the both of you… well…" His voice dwindled to a scarce whisper, shame suffocating his speech. His scarlet face was cast, now eyeing the ground with newfound interest.

"Sam…" I deftly cut in, making a guess as to which twin I was talking to. I seemed to have guessed correctly, for he instantly looked back up. "Please… do you have any food with you?"

Sam mumbled for me to wait as he ambled back to Eric, who still observed the pathway with sincere diligence. I shrank back in my hiding spot, feeling exactly how fast my pulse was pounding. I closed my eyes briefly against the glow of the sun as it warmed my lids. Sweat trickled down my brow and into the creases of my face before I could wipe the moisture away.

Not two minutes had passed before Sam was back, reverently offering something covered in large, thick leaves. I accepted it just as my curious fingers peeked beneath the wrapping. It was meat, though it looked far more burnt than what was considered normal for even the hunters.

Sam met my eyes, apology written across his face. "Sorry," he spoke while rubbing the back of his neck. "They always give Eric and me the worst part of the pig for the day's ration—"

Sweet warmth flooded my body at his display. Without letting him finish, I pulled him close to me in a fierce embrace. I could feel his ribs as well as the texture of his spine beneath my arms and knew that he could hardly afford to give it away. What I did next fueled a streak of humiliation through my mind, though I knew that I would do almost anything at this point to ensure mine and Ralph's survival. My fingers skimmed lightly across his arm as I released him, feeling a twisted sort of power in the goosebumps that rose along the plane of his skin. I pressed my lips fleetingly against his cheek before pulling what I hoped was a honeyed smile.

"Thank you," I whispered against his ear. I felt his warm cheek flush and his breath quicken.

As I pulled back into the shadows of my hiding spot, I didn't miss the look of sudden hunger mixed with innocent confusion as it spanned across his gaze. The same hunger that I was now well acquainted with. A hunger that I could use to my advantage.

Just as I was turning to leave, he released a hushed shout. "Wait!"

I halted, barely turning around so that only his blurry silhouette was visible within my line of sight.

"The Chief's been out since this morning… and he hasn't come back yet." Sam hastily explained, his face rosy with the strain of anxiety. Most likely with the indecision of where he should be casting his loyalty.

I barely caught the last of his statement before I had broken into the tree line, racing back through the creepers. Just like I had remembered from when we had first crashed, the island's wild growth seemed to grab at me, trying to hold me back, vainly claiming its dominance. My frustrated whimpers permeated through the air as I struggled through. Like nightmares brought into the realm of reality, I felt like I could not move fast enough, as if my tired limbs were struggling through molasses.

It felt like hours had leaked past by the time I had finally arrived at my rocky nook. Dashing in, I was instantly relieved to see the scant vision of blond within the small bit of shadows of the cave floor. Close by was a pile of gathered fruit, cradled precariously within large leaves freshly plucked from nearby unidentified trees. By the volume, I knew that Ralph had only half-heartedly taken my orders seriously. As of now, his sweat-slickened body lay in stress-laden slumber. His breath sounded somewhat uneven and fresh beads of moisture formed on the bridge of his nose, mercilessly reminding me of the uncomfortable temperature that he bestowed earlier.

I carefully added the burned portion of meat to Ralph's supply before sitting next to his form, laying my spear at my feet. Looking down at his labored face, I impulsively pressed my lips up intimately against his, feeling just how abnormally hot the rosy flesh was.

Pulling back, I lowered myself to the ground, sitting cross-legged and quietly listening to the mundane sounds of the jungle. My fingers absentmindedly stroked through his matted, pale fringe. Thoughts became muddled … I didn't know what else to do. My gaze frequently, almost shrewdly scanned the cave entrance, watching and waiting for anything out of the ordinary. Even as the sun began to set, Ralph sustained in his fever induced reveries while my fingers continued to touch his hair, offering what little comfort I could. In that moment, I felt undeniably overprotective—possessive for my little piece of gold in this newly stained world that I had grown to hate.

Night had barely even blanketed the island before something perked my attention from the outside. It was a disturbance within the jungle; a short rustle of dead undergrowth. It was barely audible and I probably would have missed it entirely had I not been listening to nothing but the natural hum of the island for hours. Its obvious attempt at subtly is what alarmed me the most.

That was no pig.

I reluctantly released Ralph's hair. My eyes glazed over his soft, beautiful features, taking in each detail with a fluttering affection that I could feel in the pit of my stomach. Fingertips skimmed his hot skin briefly as a last meager farewell before grapping at the spear that lay readied beside me. Carefully, I exited the cave, aiming to make as little noise as I possibly could until I was at least a good handful of metres away. My ears hadn't detected the disturbance again, only the thickness of eerie silence.

When I judged the distance to be sufficient enough, the silence was abruptly fractured. I began to purposefully thrash around with wild abandon through the mess of the creepers and underbrush, creating as much racket as I could muster as I fled opposite from the cave. The darkness proved to aid me in this purpose, for I had accidentally pummeled straight into barely visible bushes in the growing darkness. It created for a lavish distraction and I had to bit my lip twice to keep from laughing, despite the morbidity of my plan. Hearing laughter would surely make my hunter think twice.

My efforts were dubiously rewarded when I heard similar, though decidedly less loud, sounds of violent pursuit. _Definitely human_… instinct screeched, flooding my body with the urge to run and never stop. To fight like the survivalist animal that I currently was. However, rationality won out as I slowed. My noises grew less before stopping completely, fluidly masking my body behind the nearest tree. All was shadow and roughness against my skin. The wild smell of moisture and dripping mud filled my nostrils as insects buzzed about my sticky, wet skin. The little beastly admirers only continued in their pursuit to annoy after my half-hearted attempt at shaking them away. With my back pressed against the texture of the warped tree, my hand wrapped tightly against my mouth, attempting to breathe slowly as my pulse pounded a hazardous rhythm through my body, currently filled to the brim with a daring adrenaline rush.

The slight crunch of his footfalls against the brush grew in volume. He had likewise slowed from his run and had grown even quieter as he seemed to be closing in.

"Lydia…"

A silken voice pronounced my name and I only gripped my spear in response, now held in both hands. His tenor was soft amidst the gentle breeze of the island. It feels misplaced. Particularly when linked to the dangerous passions normally exposed beneath the dried cracks of his painted face.

I felt the thickness of tears clot my throat as I thought about what I was going to do next. Ralph's face now stained with sickness, surfaced—giving me gruesome fortitude.

_If he only knew…_ _He's not going to like this… He's going to hate me_… _I'm so sorry, Ralph…_

Taking a breath, I felt the rush of air as my lips parted to speak. My voice cracked; it had failed. Trying again, I quietly cleared my throat before finally hearing successful syllables tumble out. "Jack," my low mumble lifted through the air. "Would you be willing to make a deal with me?"

I heard a snort. Short and crass. He sounded near now as his nearly inaudible footsteps drew closer, strained towards the resonance of my voice. "I don't see how you're in any position to do that," he muttered.

I swallowed, feeling the darkness closing in on me. The constricting throat dared to open once more; a breathless reply escaped as my fingers trembled. "I think that I am in such a position, Jack Merridew… I am the only girl. You can't _afford_ to lose me, can you?"

My knuckles turned white over my spear, praying that Jack loved playing this game as much as his savagely painted image suggested… or else my deal would mean nothing to him. We were all his pawns now, measly playthings. And this island was his territory. His chessboard. I wasn't one of the expendable littluns to him nor was I even comparable to his hunters, for he had more than one. Being the sole representative of my sex in this game, I was unique. Set apart from the other survivors.

Silence greeted me. His movements had even stilled. I waited, unsure if I should take this as a good or a bad sign. Impulsively, I threw my chances to fate. Holding my spear with finality, I took off. Running and scratching myself as I tore through the jungle, heading closer to the restless sounds of the breathing ocean as it pulled and clung to the immaculate white sands of the beach. I broke the tree line and my heels instantly reveled in the beach's supple sand. The endless monotony of the black waters of the ocean was only broken by a single rendition of the full moon. It hovered heavily, blearily observing the tragic island.

I spun around, now gripping my spear with inexperienced hands, though it was still poised defensively as similar sounds of running and rummaging through the jungle followed. I vaguely saw his shape emerge before it just as quickly began to close in on me. The pointed end of his spear became more distinctive and nerve-wracking the closer he came. The moonlight was scant, so I could barely make out the painted face, but his posture and chaotic hair was immediately recognizable. Something seemed a little off, however, though I couldn't quite detect why. A slight reluctance was evident in the way that he stalked closer, as if walking on hot coals. Comparably different from before when he was overly eager to claim me for his tribe. Or even when he stole my first kiss. A rush of heat formed over my cheeks in remembrance.

Jack cocked his head to the side in the slightest as he raised his spear, its end pointed at my throat. "Name your terms if you'd like… little witch," he finally spoke. His tone sounded careless, almost comparable to an irritated sigh.

I released a slightly annoyed breath. "Why do you keep calling me that?"

Jack shifted his weight and I could detect the corners of his mouth curving wickedly. "That's what everyone thinks you are, especially with that little trick you've managed to pull with Roger." A small, harsh laugh trickled through the air. I stiffened. Jack paused to wet his lower chapped lip.

"Everyone talks. Most are scared." His eyes seemed to glitter as he inched even closer. "My hunters are convinced that you're in league with the Beast… and they want to see you burn. Like a real witch."

My skin felt cold and my fingers stiffer still until I could no longer even feel the spear. I barely even registered the fact that Jack had spoken again. His gaze bore intensely into mine. They scorched.

"I _want you_." I could hear the vague trembling behind his voice, so full of such intensely perplexing need and hunger that it almost brought a pang of similar recollections to my stomach, feelings that I had only shared with Ralph. My heart was beating faster. There was an edging excitement, steadily roasting the air as he continued. I could almost feel his pulse rising, in synch with mine, though for decidedly different reasons.

"You will be my connection to this Beast. I've heard what they've all had to say. And they believe that you've made some sort of deal with it." He spoke so plainly, so matter-of-factly, it was difficult to discern if he was mocking them or being somewhat believing of the whispered superstitions. A worn memory flickered like an old photograph of the stories that I had read as a small child in my father's library. Old stories and folklore of how women were always depicted as the deceitful gender, either easily lured or lurking away to make a deal with the Devil in return for unnatural abilities. Queasiness filled my stomach at the reflection. So that's what Jack had his eyes set on... Only more power over the others.

"So—"he spoke louder now, a sense of entitlement saturating his every word. "—You will stand by me. And you will _want to_." His voice grew harsh, piercing me with a hard look. "No more of your rebellious tendencies. If you fail in that, then you'll be punished. Just like everyone else." My eyes narrowed at his sentiments.

"Those—"Jack smirked, "—are my terms."

"Well, then _mine_ will have to be honored as well." I nearly spat my words before remembering that I was trying to sway him, not start an argument. My voice faltered before softening. He remained silent with a slightly arched brow, no doubt waiting for me to continue.

"You will leave Ralph alone." I quickly sustained. His gaze darkened immediately, already bristling at the very notion. "You will not hunt him or hurt him in any way. And you will not make any move to capture him… Just let him alone."

Jack moved close to me, pressing his spear against my throat. I tensed, feeling the danger. Pricking, yet not drawing blood. "He's my enemy!" He seethingly declared through his spiteful teeth.

With a false display of bravado, I viciously removed the end of his spear from my throat with a swipe of my wrist. Attempting to ignore my trembling, a glare began to form on my end. "He's no more your enemy than I am a witch. If you play your cards right, then maybe we'll all get what we want from this sodding deal." So much for swaying him gently.

Though his eyes remained hard, he at least appeared to be contemplating as silence reigned. I could hear my own breath thundering painfully in the stillness. I watched as his expression morphed into something more distinct and thoughtful the longer the stillness drew on. I began to squirm and my pulse throbbed sickeningly hard. The creepers behind us moved in the nightly breeze. A wind that carried the moist scent of the jungle's life and decay.

He finally broke the strange calm, sounding oddly similar to the uncertain feeling within the atmosphere. "In that case, you cannot go to him either. If he's nothing to me… then he can be nothing to you. I don't want you to even touch him."

It felt as if a stone had been dropped in my stomach. The weight was so horribly heavy, but I swallowed it. If this was the price, then it was better than seeing him dead. "Fine…" I whispered.

His mouth formed a thin line as he continued to stare at me, eyes suddenly layered with ice. "I could just force you, you know… You cannot possibly do anything to stop me." His voice was smugly menacing, almost dignified in the light assurance in which he now carried himself. I smiled back with a bitter edge as he tossed back the too-long strands of rusty hair from his eyesight.

"You could try, but then you wouldn't win. Not really. I'll refuse to play your stupid game." As hard as it was, I attempted to stand a bit straighter. Our eyes nervously connected as I brought myself closer to him. I could feel the heat practically emitting from his savagely painted skin and even smell the salty human odor with our newfound closeness. But he continued to stand absolutely still, smoldering me with his unreadable pale eyes. I dared myself to touch him, my fingertips gliding up his arm. It was only a ghost of a touch, but I could still feel him shiver.

"Your choice Merridew," I dropped the level of my voice, watching his unmoving expression with care. "If we agree on this, then I will come with you. _Willingly_." My thoughts were cut abruptly short when I felt Jack's hand ensnare my wrist. Panic exploded beneath his grasp, though it eased slightly away when I felt his fingers move against my skin. While he still gripped tightly, his fingertips grew softer, almost caressing against mine. Looking back at his expression, I could see the conflict that resided there.

"I don't like him being here. Always challenging. Always taking the things that I want most." He spoke quietly as his eyes penetrated mine, but there was still that bitter hatred that poisoned his speech. It stung and was meant to be feared. Now I understood the monster that shadowed him. I could almost feel its presence as he twisted our conversation back to the very bottom of our untied agreement. I wanted Ralph safe and it was the only thing of interest that I have demanded in return. And perhaps Jack, in turn, hated me for that.

"Do you really want more blood?" I probed softly. His head turned, for once shielding his eyes in the darkness. My free hand gently brought his face back towards mine, oddly meeting little resistance. I still couldn't read his expression, but I could feel that the usual intensity that normally glazed his body like war paint was absent, if for a moment, leaving behind only a wide-eyed schoolboy with a black cap.

Pity filled me. Not only for him in that moment, but for all of us. Instead of letting him see that, I softly craned his head down against mine, my fingers in his dirty hair. I felt the paint on his cheek as it smudged against mine while he reciprocated my awkward embrace. Our spears slipped from our hands and onto the soft sand, barely making a sound as I felt his strong arms encompass my form. He pulled me flush against him. Our skin was pressed so tightly together, it felt overheated.

Usually, his strength frightened me, though for reasons unfathomed I couldn't find it in myself to mind it in that moment. More than anything, I could only feel the same desperate, lonely, and confused vibes that I had felt from Ralph whenever he held me. Tight with frightened limbs. Like they would lose themselves if they were to let go; lost in that numb, cold world.

Before I could stop him or reason with myself, I felt chapped lips touch my ear, lightly grazing. They tickled my skin as they moved sloppily down my jaw before finding its way to the corner of my mouth, needy breaths being pulled from his lungs. Shivers cascade throughout my body in the gentleness of the contact…so contrary to the last time he had touched me. I couldn't move. Not when my chance with this compromise was so close. His hands moved, feeling so foreign and calloused. Sliding deftly down the curve of my back, pressure was applied as his fingertips outlined the dip just above my bum. I bit my lip.

I felt him press his hips into mine, the feel of him growing harder and more defined against my thigh. My teeth dug harder into my flesh.

Our limbs tangled in an awkward sprawling mess as our flesh crushed against the sand. For an instant, my mind offers the faint, scarring memory of the last time my back had been pushed into the sand followed by eager sun-browned hands. The stars peek from behind the nightly overcast, like curious children staring from behind the safe folds of their parent's coat. I felt his hands everywhere at once it seemed, cupping and pressing into the subtle slopes. Jagged, harsh nails scrapped with harsh finality, leaving behind flared, angry skin. All the while, I held my tongue as well as my resistance.

"It's a deal," I heard him whisper against my lips, barely touching them as hot breath puffed against my burning cheeks. The corners of the hovering mouth curve slightly before his teeth moved forward, brutishly taking my bottom lip between his sharp incisors. Pain was swift and explosive as he broke through my skin. Blood, warm and quick, dribbled down the corner of my mouth. It's movement tickled. I winced, fiercely clawing into the sand, though my limbs were otherwise motionless at my sides. I felt his fingers tangle themselves within the strands of my wild hair as he pulled my face up to meet his. My eyes connected only with the stars and not the shadow that began to fill my vision as he pressed his lips hard against mine. His mouth moved so quick and harshly that his chapped lip cracked, his blood now quickly beading through.

Undeterred, he continued to kiss me, slower now as he methodically worked his tongue between my lips. I continued to lie still, uncertain and shamed. Soon, his wet muscle massaged against mine, attempting to knead it into action. Our lips grew slippery with our mixed blood, its metallic scent filling our nostrils. Unsteady, lusty gasps filled the air. When I felt Jack's unsatisfied fingers digging into my skin, I finally began to move, to tentatively kiss him back. At first, I could only taste him as my tongue reached up to hesitantly touch his. He tasted wild and exciting, a musky spiciness that contrasted heavily against the tenderness of Ralph's heat—the only one that I had known. It was different. And my face filled with a mortified flush upon noticing that my body was responding to this deviation. My mind felt empty, blissfully empty while liquid heat pooled into the recesses of my flesh. My back arched in the slightest, pushing my skin against his, inducing dangerous friction. A brief, barely concealed moan escaped his lips, its vibrations sending shivering flutters down my spine.

My heart pounded heavily, filling my head and heart with dull trepidation as I continued to reciprocate his kisses. Our mouths continued to meet and move. It wasn't long until his taste was completely masked by the suffocating tang. Our mixed blood drowned my senses, further imprinting the image of what we were doing into my sullied memory. It's bold flavour and scent somehow deepened the shadows around us. The darkness scrutinized our every movement.

The partaking of our blood felt wrong. As if I had just violently desecrated the church. Only with that thought now pricking my conscience did I attempt to move away, to make a hasty retreat from that wicked mouth of his as he continued to lick at the blood. As if to seal our spoken contract. After a few hazy moments, he finally pulled away, breath coming heavily and eyes alight with dark mischief and satisfaction. My eyes followed the tip of his tongue as it slid against the corners of his mouth, collecting the remnants of our blood that remained. "Jack..." I whispered, just to reassure myself that it was him and not anything else. A lazy grin spread across his face in reply. His arms raised himself up, now propped against the sand as he continued to stare down at me, still straddling my hips.

"You're mine," he spoke, surprisingly without malice. Just with a soft sort of finality. The pads of his fingers caressed the side of my face down to the edge of my jaw. The sudden gentleness startled me, but I remained still, as if even the smallest harsh breath would shatter our haphazardly constructed treaty.

The image of the deceitful woman from past stories flashed her enimagic smile in my mind's eye. _I am not like her_... my mind instantly rants. But my words don't comfort me. Thinking them doesn't make me any more of a believer in the sentiment. She made her pact with the devil. Mine was with those of flesh and bone. In the end, does it really make any difference? As if to emphasize my thoughts, his hips pressed almost painfully against mine, filled with grim promise. I desperately look up toward the stars, but find that they're once more hidden behind dark overcast. In the end, I could almost feel the nightmare's grime as it seeped and covered everything. We were all the same. Though some on the island might lust after the prospect of spilling more life, we were all, first and foremost, stained with our own soiled blood.

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